Ronnie Barnett (The Muffs)

Ronnie Barnett was a rock journalist in Houston when he met Kim Shattuck, then bassist for the Los Angeles band the Pandoras, and their fates intertwined. Soon Barnett was living in L.A. and playing bass in the Muffs, Shattuck’s new pop-punk band in which she played guitar and applied her impassioned vocals to her tight, tuneful songs. The band had a strong three-album run with Warner Bros., though its most famous song became its punked-up cover of Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” that played over the opening credits of 1995’s Clueless yet never was released as a single. Amid more acclaimed albums, Shattuck took a brief detour as the Pixies’ bassist. Sixteen days before the October 2019 release of the Muffs’ final studio album, No Holiday, Shattuck died at age 56 from complications of ALS, news that shocked and devastated the many who loved her and her music. Barnett takes us through the thrills and heartbreak of his life with Shattuck and the Muffs—and offers some record-collecting notes because he’s that kind of guy. (Photo by Tommi Cahill)