The Girl in the Back: A Female Drummer's Life with Bowie, Blondie, and the '70s Rock Scene

by Laura Davis-Chanin

Overview

(Book). Nineteen seventy-seven. New York City. Dark. Dangerous. Thrilling. Punk Rock. Blondie. David Bowie. Drinking. Drugs. Happening at the speed of light. Seventeen-year old Laura, quaking within her skin while the bursting punk rock revolution explodes around her, starts a band with her teenage friends called the Student Teachers. She's the drummer. They play legendary clubs CBGB, Max's Kansas City, Hurrah they rehearse madly, write songs, and tour the East Coast. All between final exams at school. In comes Jimmy Destri from Blondie. He thinks the Student Teachers are terrific! And then he falls in love with Laura. He pulls her into the glamorous life of Blondie and introduces her to David Bowie. Bowie takes an interest in Laura's band, attends their rehearsals, and sets them up to open for Iggy Pop at the Palladium on Halloween 1979. It's exhilarating! It's the beginning of amazing success in rock 'n' roll! Until it all comes to a stunning stop. After playing a show at Town Hall in 1980, Laura is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Does it all fall apart? Later, at a dinner with Bowie, he whispers something to Laura. And it helps her save her life. In prose that flows like music, Laura Davis-Chanin presents a rich work of narrative nonfiction that is not only deeply personal but also revealing of the punk rock heyday in New York City. Infused with rare photographs, this book is a journey through a unique, ephemeral life experience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617136870
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/01/2018
Pages:	274
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Laura Davis-Chanin (New York City) is a writer and lawyer. She is currently working on a novel and a series of short stories. She can be heard on the podcast “Phi-Fic: Truth in Fiction” on the philosophy site The Partially Examined Life and is working on a master's degree in philosophy at Edinburgh University. She is most thankful for her beautiful daughters, Zoe and Mara.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

Part 1

1 The Man Who Fell to Earth 3

2 Three Years Later 5

3 It Started in Berlin 7

4 Nuclei 15

5 The Mumps 27

6 Sentience 33

7 From the Eye-Catcher to the Caught 39

8 Exorcised 47

9 Dalton v. Trinity 55

10 Without a Chief 65

11 A Busy Man 71

12 Hypnotic 79

13 Phantasm 85

14 Surge 93

15 Never Gettin' Outta Here 103

16 Christmas Weather 107

17 Contravention 119

18 Cannoli 125

Part 2

19 Mars 133

20 Spikes 139

21 Intemperance 149

22 Roof Party 155

23 Titular 163

24 Machiavellian 171

25 Marilyn Always Knew 177

26 Stringent 183

27 11:59 193

28 Luke and Laura 197

29 The Elephant Man 209

Part 3

30 Three Years Earlier 219

31 Locus 225

32 Ear Inn 231

33 Divestiture 237

Redeployed 239

Possibly, Hopefully, Maybe, Very Good Stuff 249

Editorial Reviews

05/15/2018
Davis-Chanin's account of her days as a drummer with the punk rock band The Student Teachers starts with a group of close friends in high school and is told with incredible honesty. Drumming is not her primary passion, but she moves along with her friends in the formation and promotion of the band. She reveals a difficult family life as well as the thrills and disappointments of the small club scene in late Seventies New York City. Bands forming, merging, and ending, late-night parties and drugs, and more drugs. Musicians of near-mythical proportion (David Bowie, Iggy Pop, members of Blondie) enter the author's life at the young age of 16. Most fascinating throughout is Davis-Chanin's candidness about herself and what she sees. Facing a serious medical issue in her late teens, she's forced to make important decisions, and the story she tells about facing down these issues and whether the music and the drugs are her future, make this a page-turner. VERDICT A compelling memoir of the early punk rock scene for fans of daring and personal journeys.—Amy Lewontin, Northeastern Univ. Lib., Boston

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