Ode
to
Olga


by Ruby Ray



DEAR OLGA... Sadly, I never saw her again after I left SF for NYC in ‘81, but she was someone I could never forget.  She was so impressive a girl in the punk days with her beautiful hair and smile. A punk Amazon goddess, she was an original, so creative and unique. She always looked great, was friendly and supportive. You could count on her to have crazy fun. I am sorry I didn’t get a chance again to tell her how she inspired me to get my own bike after seeing how easy she made it look. She was a maverick, tuff and unafraid. Bless you Olga, and see you on the other side! You should not have left so soon!

Olga de Volga and Leo Zulueta, 1979
Olga de Volga and Leo Zulueta 1979 -- Photo by Ruby Ray

Here’s something Annex wrote about her for my punk memoir coming out next year…

De Volga, first playing bass with the popular punk reggae group, the Offs, and later with the all girl VS, and the Lewd, combined outlawism with futuristic thinking, wearing her motorcycle leathers on and off her bike. She looked awesome and made money leading funeral corteges through the streets on her motorcycle, and was inspired by Atom Age fetish wear magazine and NASA for her look. She saw "total leather outfits as a prelude to space suits. I'm ready to go up, I've already applied for astronaut training." Onstage with VS, she sang "Only salvation for a new race, one way out of this place, dressed in leather, ready for space." Frontiers called. . .
   
 Olga with the Offs, 1978
Olga with the Offs 1978 -- Photo by Ruby Ray


Olga and Leo Strut Their Stuff, 1979 
 Olga and Leo strut their stuff 1979  -- Photo by Ruby Ray