Hi!

I'm Dylan Tupper Rupert, and I'm the host of this season of Lost Notes, called GROUPIES: Women of the Sunset Strip from the Pill to Punk. [Editor's note, borrowed from the season's co-creator/executive-producer Jessica Hopper: "You may know Dylan from her time at Rookie mag or as 'Producer Dylan' from The Ringer podcast Bandsplain]. I'm taking you on a WILD RIDE down Sunset, examining rock n roll's most mythologized and (perhaps) misunderstood scene of girls who absolutely lived rock n roll — in every way. We're talking Pamela Des Barres, author of the iconic groupie memoir I'm With the Band journeying from Reseda to Laurel Canyon where she moved in with Frank Zappa and almost joined the Flying Burrito Brothers; Lori Lightning and Sable Star, high schoolers who fell into the debauched scene at the English Disco surrounding Iggy Pop, David Bowie, and Led Zeppelin; Pleasant Gehman and Theresa Kereakis, who were lured to the Strip by the IDGAF vibes of the teenage groupies... only to eventually channel that energy towards launching punk in LA.

These are all stories we've heard before, but have you ever really heard it from purely the girl's perspective?! I wanted one thing above all, and that was to talk to the women themselves: about what it was like to be a girl at the center of it all, what they got from it, and what they wanted. Well, okay, I didn't want just one thing... I wanted to hang out with these women. I ADORE them. Women like Dee Dee Keel, who functionally ran the Whisky A Go-Go but never got any credit for it. Or Morgana Welch, an aspiring audio engineer-slash-actress-slash-model decades before her time. I got to ask these iconic women all my burning questions, and finally had a chance to show them as I truly think they are: Legends of their time.

Episode 6, which just dropped this week, is sort of our "if you only listen to one episode..." episode. It's because, thanks to truly captivating insight by Creem rock journalist Jaan Uhelski who toured with Led Zeppelin in the '70s, it really threads the needle on all that we built up to this season. I pitched this show originally as a study of what happens when young women (actually, girls) come to the collision site that is Hollywood, where so many opposing forces crash into each other: dreams and power, agency and exploitation, commerce and art, industry and subculture, youth and... vampires. Episode 6 really straddles the dichotomy of the glitter of the early '70s groupie scene, with all the darkness (both alluring and foreboding) in which these girls shone so bright. 

Drop into our world of the '70s Sunset Strip in episode 6, and go back and catch up later, if you like it. It is, to me, a quintessential LA girlhood story.

Mermaid Chunky on weird shows, ska covers, and opening for LCD Soundsystem

Alluring as the mythical sea creature with which they share a name, the genre-resistant, mixed-media project Mermaid Chunky fascinates us to no end here at KCRW. And we've heard the feedback, we know a lot of y'all feel the same. So gather round as FREAKS ONLY host Travis Holcolmbe chats with the makers of “céilí," his "favorite song of 2024." The project's founding duo Moina Moin and Freya Tate join Travis for a freewheeling and deeply relatable conversation about their whirlwind past couple of years. Plus, they share four of the sonic treasures that have shaped them as a band. 

Ever wonder what the golden days of AM radio would sound like if they were programmed by famed occultist Aleister Crowley? Our recent session with LA-native folk artist Jessica Pratt should give you a pretty solid idea. Watch on for  the beguiling tones of “Better Hate” from Pratt’s 2024 LP Here in the Pitch, and fan favorite “Poly Blue” from Pratt’s 2019 opus Quiet Signs.

Want FREE Billie Eilish tix? There's a KCRW membership for that

Dive all the way into Billie's world — if you're a KCRW Member, that is. The HIT ME HARD AND SOFT tour hits the Kia Forum and we want to send YOU (+1) on Tuesday, December 17th. That's right, it could be you and your friend sob-singing along to "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" at the top of your lungs.

The first two members to reply to this email with their favorite Billie Eilish song off the new album will receive a pair of tickets on us. Not a KCRW member? Join today so you never miss out on exclusive opportunities like these.