Who Was Sandy West?

Sandy West, born as Sandra Sue Pesavento, was born on July 10^th, 1959. She is most notably known for having been the drummer in the all girl 70’s rock band, “The Runaways”. In interviews, Sandy stated that initially she was interested in following the footsteps of her older sister, who played violin. At the age of 9, her grandfather bought her a drum set, and she started practicing the instrument. She had a natural talent that shone when she was in school and in her early teen years where she’d be the only female drummer that’d play at teen parties. At the age of 15, she met Kim Fowley who recruited her and the other eventual members of ‘The Runaways’.

In 1975, at the age of 16, Sandy and the other Runaways formed the popular female band that was rife with drama. In the documentary, ‘Edgeplay’, the teen girls would go between waves of caring about each other and then fighting each other, though it seemed that Sandy wasn’t much to get into the incidents. Sandy played on all the albums with the Runaways. In 1979, the band broke up, and everyone went their separate ways. Even though Lita Ford and Sandy West had similar musical interests and playing styles, the two did not end up creating music together.

After the Runaways, Sandy continued to play live venues and formed her own band called, ‘Sandy West Band’, releasing one album called, ‘The Beat Goes On’. I cannot find any physical copies of it other than on discogs, which state that it was released in 2000 apparently.

When not playing venues, Sandy had to work in other areas to earn money. Unfortunately, she turned to some dark areas, that were lightly touched upon in the movie ‘Edgeplay’. Sandy stated that she had broken someone’s arm, and shoved a gun down another person’s throat in order to get money that was owed to others. She also alluded to having been to jail potentially multiple times. Beyond that, Sandy worked in construction for 20 years, having also worked as a veterinary assistant and bartender at different points.

Sandy always felt like the band shouldn’t have broken up, and that there should have at least been a reunion between the women. She looked upon the time she shared in the band fondly, feeling that their talent could have gotten them farther than they did.

Unfortunately, Sandy was diagnosed with lung cancer, after years of heavy smoking, in 2005. The cancer spread to her brain, and on October 21^st, 2006, Sandy passed away.

In her obituary, Sandy had memoirs that she completed, of which her manager at the time, Mara Fox, hoped to have published. As of 2020, there do not seem to be any plans for the potential book.

Her former bandmates stated:

"We shared the dream of girls playing rock and roll. Sandy was an exuberant and powerful drummer, I am overcome from the loss of my friend. I always told her we changed the world."

-Joan Jett

"Sandy West was by far the greatest female drummer in the history of rock and roll. No one could compete or even come close to her, but the most important was her heart. Sandy West loved her fans, her friends and family almost to a fault. She would do absolutely anything for the people she loved. It will never be the same for me again to step on a stage, because Sandy West was the best and I will miss her forever."

-Cherie Currie

Sandy is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Cypress, California. She was 47.

[SOURCES]

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16281942/sandy-west

http://www.legacy.com/ns/sandy-west-obituary/19713291

https://www.discogs.com/Sandy-West-The-Beat-Is-Back/release/9233253

https://www.facebook.com/Sandy-West-The-Beat-Goes-On-309571016333/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_West