Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello studio.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Why this is Lida.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello Leita, you are was stuck in Gunner. My name
is Gunner and this is my friend Don. So great
to talk to you today.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
My thank you, thanks for having me.
Speaker 4 (00:15):
Well, just hold on a second. I mean Leda Ford
makes our own phone calls. I was I was certain
there was going to be like five people in between. Okay,
hold for Lida.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
So we are speaking with Leeda Ford and Lda. Let's
go ahead cause we've never spoke before. But I want
to go all the way back to the Runaways. You
were underage on the road with an all girl band.
How difficult was that? That was that to be in
an all girl band in the seventies.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
It was an experience into life.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
You know.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
My father took me to the airport and dropped me
off for our first tour, which was with the Ramones
through the United States.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
With three months on the road.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
With the with the Ramones, and I said bye, have fun,
And I was like, holy shit, I mean, this is
just lot Stuges bearing you up for the rest of
your life in the music industry. And uh.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
And when I came home after three months of being
gone on the road, my dad picked me up at
the airport waiting for me at the gate, which they
used to let us do back then. And I got
off the plane and I hugged him and I cried
like a baby, and he looked at me and he
laughed and never cried again. You know, that was it.
(01:41):
I think I was seventeenth man.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
But that's that's that's how about this? You know now,
Gunner Gunner is the father of three daughters. So gunn Or,
you're going to take one of your daughters to the
airport this afternoon and drop them off and they're going
to go on tour with the Ramones.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
How's that feeling?
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Well?
Speaker 1 (01:58):
I know this. I'm I'm going to need some ze
cool or comfortably numb to go to sleep at night.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
I know that.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Leda Ford is with us. Leita, let's talk.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
About nobody wants their first grandchild to look like Joey Ramone.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
You got that right, You you.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Got that right, Lida. You know, I don't know if
everyone knows that you were born in England and you
came over here, like when you were in second grade?
Did you have an accent when you got over here?
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Of course?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
And how did that go away? I mean, what did
the kids think of you? You were unique obviously.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Yeah. I never really fit in anywhere in school, so
I don't know. Just you know, my parents, my mother
was from Rome and my father was from Britain, and
they had me, you know, they met and fell in
love during World War two.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
And then when they had me, you know, born in
the UK, and and you know, I love it over there.
I love all the the different accents from all over
the world. I'm just one of those. I just get
engulfed and listening to people talk with these different accents,
even in the South, you know, and these and the
(03:22):
New Yorkers. We were just in New York and these
thick New York Italian accents. It is just so interesting
to listen to. You know, I'm a weirdo like that.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
It's so great to know. And it makes more sense
now that we know that you are half Roman, so
you were born to conquer the world. This is why
you were successful right out of the gate, because you're wrong, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Vinegar, Oh my god, that is great. Leader Forward is
with us, all right? So you go from the runaways. Now,
why did you guys end up breaking up? I've read
different stories.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
There was a bunch of stuff going on, but I
mean mainly it was just music. You know, I wanted
to play one style of music and and uh and
Joan Jett wanted to play a different style of music,
and and you know, we just kind of wanted to
go and do our own things. I mean, at that age,
you kind of just sort of like the Runaways were
(04:22):
kind of like going through college and then and then
you kind of know, Okay, well this is what I
want to do, and then you know the other person,
well this is what I want to do, and so okay,
well then go do it.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
So if the Runaways were like being in college, who
would you consider the band member that would have been
the ra who was who was the one that kind
of threw the wet blanket on everything?
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Yeah, there was a couple of those.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
Say no more, we got all right, we don't want
to get anyone in trouble.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
So you can you again with the wet blanket? Oh okay, great, yeah,
get out of here.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
We are speaking with Leada Ford. You know, you came
out with a memoir. I think it was like twenty sixteen.
It was called Living Like a Runaway. Was it fun
to write? Or did it dig up things that maybe
brought back a little bit of pain along the way.
What was that writing process like for you?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Yeah, I mean, it's a true story living. I was
living like a runaway at the time. I just filed
for divorce and pretty much ran away from everything I
had to It's the only way I could have got
out of a bad relationship and ran away. And I
was living And you're not going to believe this. I mean,
I was living in an apartment with my dogs. I
(05:43):
had to steal my dogs because they wouldn't have survived,
and so I had to steal them. So I had
my dogs, a couple of guitars, and a sleeping bag
and a pillow. It was an unfurnished apartment, and I
had the sleeping bag and a pillow, and I was
sleeping with my dogs in the sleeping back and and
(06:04):
I thought, hell, I'm living like a runaway and I was.
I mean it was appropriate.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Yeah. And around what year was that when you were
living like that?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Two and ten through twenty twelve?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
I wow.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Actually the Deaf Leopard Poison Tour saved my life coming
out of that divorce. In twenty twelve, I went on
tour with Deaf Leopard and I took my dog. They
went on tour also, and you know, we just lived
on the bus and we played rock and roll every night,
(06:42):
and it saved my life. It was a blessing in
disguise that tour.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Now, I want to say this because like I'm looking
at I'm looking at duets in the in the two thousands,
all right, or in the nineteenth twentieth century. Stevie Nicks,
Tom Petty Stopped Dragging My Heart around, Eddie Money, Ronnie Spector,
You've got, You've got, Brian Adams, Tina Turner. Yeah, I
think that what you did with Ozzy Osbourne Closed My
Eyes Forever nineteen eighty nine is the greatest rock and
(07:09):
roll duet of the twentieth century. I hate giving people.
I hate giving people set lists away. Are we gonna
hear that tonight or Saturday?
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Oh? Yeah, yeah, of course yes.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
And who gets the honor of doing the Ozzy Osbourne vocals?
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Our guitar player Patrick Kennison. He's got a great voice
and he nails it.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Oh nice. And then let me ask in nineteen eighty nine,
what kind of shape was Ozzy and when you recorded
that go ahead, don't let eyes were closed. Don't eyes
were closed the whole time, but just don't let don't
let don bury You go ahead, what was that session like? Oh?
Speaker 3 (07:52):
You know, you know, I mean, Ozzy is Ozzy and
we all know what he's like. You know, there's nothing
to hide. He is that way in behind closed doors
or open doors. That's just Ozzy and what you see
is what you get. But he is a great talent
and he really shines through on those sessions and he
(08:13):
sang his ass off. I must say, who was great
at the video shoot and he kicked ass.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Yeah, you know, I really feel like he is one
of the underrated rock vocalists of all time. If you
went and propped him up right now with the band,
he would still sound awesome. His voice is still in
good shape.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Dude.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
He's the greatest rock vocalist of all time. Maybe bon
Scott next to him, but Ozzie's the greatest rock and
roll vocalist of all time all time.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Yeah, well, I mean he not so much Ozzy, but
Black Sabbath in general were a huge influence on me
growing up as a kid, especially the guitar riffs and
you know, the bad assy of Black Sabbath and of
course you know Ozzy Frontnits. But oh also Ronnie jens
Dio also became their lead singer. Yeah, kilt hell, I
(09:05):
mean it was great. It was one of the biggest,
baddest albums ever on the planet.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Yeah, without a doubt. Leada Ford is with us. Now,
Leda answer me this. We all have. We all have
a musical guilty pleasure. I've actually seen the band air
Supply four times, four times. Now, do you have a
guilty pleasure from the seventies or eighties? A band that
people would go I can't believe Leda Ford likes that.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Oh yeah I do. I like the Backstreet Boys.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
There it is, there, it is, she's singing it. And
you know what, well, you know what's it? Since we're going,
since we're going down this road, I have to tell
you my favorite duet of all time is I in
the Streams with Teddy Rodgers and Dolly Barton. Come on, now,
(10:05):
Island's in.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Oh Yi, Lada, we really are cool. Okay, we really
are cool. Don't listen to what he listens to. He
loves air Supply and everything else.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Good music is good music, and good singers are good singers.
You know, I think the Backstreet Boys are great singers,
and I love listening to their harmonies and everything. Yeah,
you know, I do it behind closed doors.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
But oh, come on, you got you gotta slip a
Backstreet Boys song in there before you go on stage,
you know, before you get out there. We're listening to
Ozzie and Ronnie James deal and then throw the Backstreet
Boys in there. All right, So Lda tell us here
before we let you go, who is who is the
(10:52):
most famous person you've ever met?
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Really? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (10:56):
I mean you know you ever meet like you ever
meet the President or Paul McCarry me or John Lennon.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
You know, I've been doing this my whole life. I mean,
Evander Holyfield maybe I've been doing this my whole life.
And uh, and you know, you don't even really think
about it anymore. Since I was a kid, you meet
the biggest of the biggest. You know, my mom was
friends with David Bowie, I mean Alice, you know, Alice
(11:22):
and David were my mom friends.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
And Judas Priest of course, my mom. Oh, Lisa, the
Judas Priests, they're coming over tonight.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
That's incredible. And you know, Rob Halford's autobiography was great. Confess,
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Oh he's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Great.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
He's a god, you know, he's a god. A lot
of wonderful people I wish I would have met that
have passed away. You know. I did a really great
award show with Tina Turner and David Bowie and it
was New Or Awards show Grammys, and my mom fell
(12:06):
in love with David Bowie. He's this little British man
that dressed nice and so with my father, and my
father had just passed away, so she kind of.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Got a crush on David Bowie.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
And I was in the dressing room putting on my makeup,
getting my clothes changed, and I said, Mom, you know,
go walk around and get get something to eat. And
so I got my makeup and hair done and clothes changed,
and I went to look for my mom and found
her sitting on a sofa next to David Bowie. And
(12:39):
I walked up to her, and I remember my voice cracked.
I went, Mom, I said, what are you doing? And
she said, oh, Liita, I was just talking to Dave.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Oh my god, excuse.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
And David Bowie looks at me up and down. I
can feel his eyes on me, form my feet up
to my head. He was looking at me up and
down and he says to my mother, is this your daughter?
And she's very proud and she says, oh, yeah, that's
Leta and he says, do you always let her dress
(13:22):
like that?
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Ah?
Speaker 1 (13:27):
That is that is absolutely awesome. You know, the two
guys with the best fashion in British music, David Bowie
and Charlie Watts, always looked like a million bucks for
the stones, A million bucks.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
He says. My mother told David Bowie, Oh yeah, Dave,
that rock and roll? Ah?
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Is that what that is?
Speaker 2 (13:50):
I thank you.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
I'm for sure that yeah, I'm that was horrified.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
That is awesome. Well, Leda, this has been such a pleasure.
I can't believe we've never spoken to you before because
you're a wonderful interview and we will see you. It'll
be Saturday night though. Who's your Lottery three stage at
the Indiana State Fair. Leada Ford, thank you in safe travels,
thank you, Leda