Margot became the 2nd GoGo to get the axe.
How the story goes.
When the Go-Go’s returned to Los Angeles in the summer of 1980, they were an incredibly tight band. They had improved tremendously. They also were attractive to different styles of music emerging. In England, punk music was on its way out fashion-wise. Punk wasn’t a force in England anymore. The younger kids were looking for something new. They were more into the mod ska look and sound.Jane recalled,
The whole LA scene had changed by the time we got back from England in the early 1980’s. It had been taken over by all these real angry young white boys, like Black Flag. We were like, “What’s this all about” It was really gross. We were lumped in with all those stupid bands - but we never even knew those guys.
At this time the GoGo's were starting to evolve into a more pop sound band. Margot was not happy with the direction they were going in as a band. She wanted the band to go after a more hard sound.
Then Margot Olaverria had been arrested. She was at the Starwood and had bought coke for a friend. She was in jail overnight. Friend John Bonebrake from the band X bailed her out.
Margot now had a police record. Others in the band were getting fed up with her. They were nervous her arrest record would prevented them from touring in Japan.
Margot now had a police record. Others in the band were getting fed up with her. They were nervous her arrest record would prevented them from touring in Japan.
Margo Olaverria
Margo Olaverria
The GoGo's were under a lot of pressure. They had six sold out shows at the Whisky coming up in December. They knew Margot was in no physical condition to play. Anxious for success at this critical point in their careers, - they started auditioning other bass players to fill in for her. They had heard about Kathy Valentine. She was currently in a local popular band called the Textones. Kathy was also a pop songwriter.
Kathy agreed to filled in for those dates at the Whisky. However, the GoGos decided to replace Margot with Kathy Valentine permanently.
Kathy Valentine
When they kicked Margot out this offended many in the local music scene. They accused the GoGos of selling out. Many were angry with how Margot was treated.
Margot admits she was devastated when she got fired. She considered the GoGos her band. Exene from X was very sad and angry about it. She felt that band members should stand by each other. You didn’t replace someone like Margot. She was one of Exene’s closest friends. When Margot got fired from the band - the GoGos were no longer cool with the X crowd.
This transition was anything but smooth, with Margot Olavarria suing the rest of the band (a settlement was later reached out of court).
NOTE: After Margot was replaced by Kathy, she moved to New York and worked as a waitress for a while. In 1987, she along with Geoff Smyth and Matin Adkins formed the group Brain Brain. They signed with New York's Moving Target/Celluloid label and released an lp called Time Flies When Your Having Toast on May 1st 1987.
NOTE: After Margot was replaced by Kathy, she moved to New York and worked as a waitress for a while. In 1987, she along with Geoff Smyth and Matin Adkins formed the group Brain Brain. They signed with New York's Moving Target/Celluloid label and released an lp called Time Flies When Your Having Toast on May 1st 1987.
5 comments:
The Textones were a very competent live act. I saw them twice in LA, and both times they sounded fantastic. There was some sort of Tom Petty connection--- I think he wrote a song they covered, or something like that. And the band seemed to be going in two different directions; when Carla Olson sang, they were sort of mainstream popish sounding. When Kathy took the lead, they were definitely harder edged. Kathy looked harder, too; spiky short hair, compared to Carla's long blonde locks. Kathy was a good guitarist, and I was surprised when she switched to the bass with the Go-Go's, but she proved to be a great fit for the band and (I think) helped their careers really take off. --Pete Maloney
Was Margo her real name. I have met a woman who claims to have been the bass player during the early years.
Yes, Margot Olavarria is her real name. She relocated to New York, played with Brian Brain for a while (the bass lines on "Time Flies While You're Having Toast" are simply incredible), remained friends with Martin Atkins and contributed to his "Tour Smart" book of advice for touring musicians (check it out, some great and funny stories, though Margot only has a couple pieces in it), got her Ph.D. in 2002, wrote a couple of academic papers and was at one point head of the New York Immigration Coalition. If the woman you met isn't all this, she wasn't bass player for the Go-Go's. Margot started the band, and was kicked out just before they hit it big.
The lady I talked to was in the publishing biz. Or something like that. I have not seen her since I wrote this back in Feb. She made no mention of a PhD and New York. So I am gathering she is a fake. How strange to make up an identity to someone from the gogos!
I worked for the law firm that represented Margot in the suit against the Go-Go's, in 1982. She was indeed fired in early 1981, after the Whiskey shows (I was at one of those shows), but before the IRS deal. The band's defense was that Margot used drugs and that she got sick, and they could throw her out of the band if they felt like it. By the time the suit got going in 1983, they were big rock stars, and they didn't feel like their judgment could be question. And, by the way, I was there for the whole thing, but I don't remember any allegation of Margot having a criminal record; it just didn't come up.
Post a Comment