Head in the Gutter, Eyes in the Stars

Been feeling a serious lack of electric guitar in your music lately? After all, electric guitar sales have slid more than 20 percent since 2008. According to LA scuzz-rockers Starcrawler, however, rock ’n’ roll’s linchpin instrument is alive and well, and so are the blues roots of rock itself.

“Every rock guitarist has to be into blues or they don’t have any groove,” says Starcrawler lead singer Arrow de Wilde, daughter of music photographer Autumn de Wilde.

Together since 2015, Starcrawler released its self-titled debut in 2018. The album metabolizes the Sunset Boulevard degenerate hard rock, punk and glittery gutter-glam of the 1970s.

The song “Pussy Tower” is an old-fashioned rock n’ roll ode to getting cheap and easy head, while “Full of Pride” is a four-chord punk tune that would fit nicely among ’90s-era buzz bands.

This year, Starcrawler contributed a cover of the Ramones classic “Pet Sematary” to the soundtrack of the latest film version of Stephen King’s book of the same name. The Ramones’ eponymous debut album was the first album de Wilde bought with her own money, she says.

“I listened, and I was like, I know why people love it,” she says. “I played it non-stop.”

De Wilde grew up on The Beatles before discovering Riot Grrrl punk. Once she discovered Ozzy, though, it was all over: one listen to the Ozzy album Blizzard of Oz, and she was obsessed.

Otherwise, her band listens to everything from Beach Boys to Sonic Youth.

Before Starcrawler, de Wilde had never sung in a serious band — surprising, given the raw intensity with which she fronts Starcrawler. Sometimes she performs in a hospital gown like a recently escaped mental patient. At others, she contorts herself into grotesque rock-star poses that make Iggy Pop seem, you know, kinda mellow.

de Wilde knew the band was something special when it played its very first show.

“I didn’t think I knew what I was going to wear. I knew kind of what my attitude was going to be,” she says.

“We played a really tiny stage, 50 people. It was packed, out the door, really shitty sound system. We didn’t really tell anyone.”

Once the band started, though, she thought, “This is our thing.”

Starcrawler plays with Death Valley Girls 9 pm Wednesday, May 15, at Sessions Music Hall; $12 advance, $14 door, all-ages.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

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None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!