Alice Bag

“Onstage the following night in front of maybe 50-60 people, Alice was a deranged primal shriek from the depths of an inner rage I couldn’t at first fathom. Seething. Breathless. I’d never seen any woman so angry. I was agog. Terrified and psyched at the same time.” - Brendan Mullen, recalling the Bags’ first show at the Masque in August, 1977.

Photo of Alice Bag at the Hong Kong Cafe, 1978 by Louis Jacinto.

Alice Bag at the Masque, 1977. Photo by Louis Jacinto.

Q: How does it feel being a Chicana woman doing music? And how did the music and culture affect your fashion style?

Alice: This is a hard question to answer because I never thought of myself as a Chicana doing music and I still don’t think of myself as a Chicana doing art, although as I’ve gotten older, I must admit that my socio-racial-economic background has undoubtedly affected my art and my world view. The best way to answer this is that punk rock helped me transcend the limits that might have otherwise existed for someone like me. At the same time, part of who I am is defined by my experiences in a world that sees me as an abstraction, a member of a group - a Chicana - rather than an individual. As for my taste in clothing, well that’s probably a jumble of Chola chic, mixed with a little residual glam and a healthy dose of shredder instincts.