Alice Bag's Memoir 'Violence Girl' Strikes a Chord

Alice Bag's forthcoming book, Violence Girl: East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage A Chicana Punk Story, is a riveting autobiographical reflection from the former lead singer of The Bags.

Equal parts Chicana Lit and punk rock, the author threads through the formative experiences of her life from a nerve-racking cheerleader tryout as a high school student at Garfield to The Bags' first photo shoot and parade through Hollywood. The progression reads naturally with no disjointed chapters and maintains a narrative that sheds light onto how Alicia Armendariz became her onstage alter ego.

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“I don't pretend to be a writer,” Bag says. “I just have a story to tell.” The idea of putting her life onto printed page came as a simple suggestion a few years ago. “Raquel Gutierrez of Butchlalis de Panochtitlan was interviewing me about what it was like to grow up in East LA in the 60's and 70's,” Bag mentions to me. “We're all having drinks and she turned over to me and said, “You should really write a book.”
The idea struck a chord with the former punk singer turned teacher and mother.

Bag's husband encouraged her to begin the writing in the form of a blog that she titled The True Life Adventures of Violence Girl. Her posts attracted a dedicated following and would later become refined in the publication of her new memoir by Feral House.

Alice Bag is bringing Violence Girl to Fountain Valley's TKO Records Pizza Party on October 21st and the Weekly will be publishing a full review, but before that, you can read excerpts here as well as check out the photography filled music video trailer for the book set to the song “Survive.”

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