We Were Going to Change the World ― Interviews With Women from the 1970s and 1980s Southern California Punk Rock Scene

The punk rock scene of the 1970s and '80s in Southern California is widely acknowledged as one of the most vibrant, creative periods in all of rock and roll history. And while several excellent books have done a commendable job of covering and examining the artists who contributed to the music of that era, none have exclusively focused on the vitality and influence of the women who played such a crucial role in this incredibly dynamic and instrumental movement.
We Were Going to Change the World captures the stories of women who were active in the SoCal punk rock scene during this historic time, adding an important voice to its cultural and musical record. Through exclusive interviews with musicians, journalists, photographers, and fans, Stacy Russo has captured the essence of why these women were drawn to punk rock, what they witnessed, and how their involvement in this empowering scene ended up influencing the rest of their lives.
Whether it's Kira, bass player for the seminal punk rock band Black Flag, discussing the first time she saw a punk rock concert—it was the Germs at the Whisky—or Alison Braun, photographer and writer for Flipside and Maximum Rocknroll, reflecting on the articles and columns she wrote for those groundbreaking publications, or Cecily Desmond revealing how, as a fan, the punk rock scene offered her a place where she finally felt like she belonged, allowing her to shed her own identification as an outcast, We Were Going to Change the World gives voice to dozens of women whose lives were dramatically changed forever by a scene that has generally been portrayed in books and movies from a predominantly male point of view.
From such hugely influential musicians and performers as Exene, Alice Bag, Phranc, Johanna Went, Teresa Covarrubias, and Jennifer Precious Finch, to such highly regarded journalists, DJs, and photographers as Ann Summa, Kristine McKenna, Pleasant Gehman, and Stella, to the fans and scenesters who supported the bands and added so much color and energy to the scene, We Were Going to Change the World is an important oral history of the crucial contributions women injected into the Southern California punk rock scene of the 1970s and '80s. Empowering, touching, and informative, Stacy Russo's collection of interviews adds a whole new dimension to the literature of both punk rock and women's studies.

Stacy Russo grew up in the 1980s Southern California punk rock scene. She is a librarian and professor at Santa Ana College in Santa Ana, California. Stacy is the editor of Life as Activism: June Jordan’s Writings from The Progressive (Litwin Books, 2014) and the author of The Library as Place in California (McFarland, 2007). Her articles, poetry, and reviews have appeared in Feminist Teacher, Feminist Collections, American Libraries, Counterpoise, Library Journal, the Chaffey Review, and Serials Review. Stacy is an active poet and writer in the independent publishing and zine community in Los Angeles and Orange County, California. Her self-published poetry zines include Poems a Librarian Wrote on Her Lunch Break and Young and Hungry in Paradise. She holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley; Chapman University; and San Jose State University.