I'm a just a small town girl who grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan. Music was my salvation, especially '60's rock and heavy metal. When I was 17, I fell in love with Van Halen, and followed them until they hired me to sell merchandise on their 1981 Fair Warning Tour. Three tours and 38 shows later, I came home a self-declared a groupie. I followed all the bands I loved, especially those metal bands with makeup, but there was no band I loved more than Motley Crue.
In my hometown, I worked at a nightclub called The Gangplank, but since Nikki Sixx was never going to find me there, I left for Hollywood in 1985. Once there, I immediately landed my dream job at The Rainbow Bar and Grill on the Sunset Strip. I worked at The 'Bow from 1985 until 1993, and the people there will always be my family. I married the love of my life (not Nikki ;-) and moved to Denver, where I live happily with my Swedish, guitar player husband and my two beautiful daughters.
As for music, I still love Motley Crue and the Beatles. It might seem like a contradiction to be a Crue Slut and a Beatle Maniac, but I never could decide if I'd rather be Lita Ford or Pattie Boyd. As for songwriters, Nikki Sixx has been speaking the words written on my soul since 1981, and that has never changed. His words, music, and passion have inspired me, changed me, and on occasion, even saved my ass.
Sometimes I do interviews about the '80s metal scene, or what it was like being a groupie, for books like David Konow's "Bang Your Head" or documentaries like VH1's "When Metal Ruled The World".
My greatest full circle moment came when I sent my story to the Groupies' Fairy Godmother, herself, Miss Pamela Des Barres. She, of course, is the best-selling author of "I'm With The Band: Confessions Of A Groupie," and now I have the unbelievable privilege of being included in her new book "Let's Spend The Night Together: The Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies". ( Patti Johnsen, a supergroupie? The mind boggles!) Pamela even suggested me for a groupie panel on "The Dr. Keith Ablow Show." So there I sat next to Miss Pamela, my Groupie Guru, on a nationally televised talk show about groupies. What a truly amazing year I've had. But, hey, if you've bothered to read this far, you should buy Miss Pamela's new book, "Let's Spend The Night Together" which is available now on Amazon, and where better books are sold! Pamela Des Barres is truly the sweetest, most together, and eloquent woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. And not only are you guaranteed to enjoy every book she's ever written, this one is bound to be her best one yet! Plus, you'll have the added bonus of reading about all the sexy rock 'n' roll secrets you've wondered about... ;-)
Stay tuned, kids, because I'm writing a memoir of my own, all about my groupie days in Hollywood, and my many years at the world famous Rainbow Bar and Grill. And come what may, rock 'n roll is my guiding star, and I will always be a groupie at heart.Motley Crue - Glitter
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