Editing Plasmatics (section)

=== Formation and early years (1977–1979) ===
In 1977, Rod Swenson, who received his [[Master of Fine Arts]] in 1969<ref>Swenson, Rod (2002) "[http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2002/10/09/barak-is-not-a-man-of-peace-but-an-untried-war-criminal/]" (letter to the editor), ''[[Yale Daily News]]'', October 9, 2002, retrieved March 30, 2010</ref> from [[Yale University]] where he specialized in [[conceptual art]], [[performance art]], and [[neo-dada]] art, holding the view that the measure of true or high art is how confrontational it is. He began a series of counter-culture projects which, by the mid-'70s, found him in the heart of [[Times Square]] producing experimental [[counterculture]] theater as well as video and shows with the likes of the then-little-known bands [[The Dead Boys]], The [[Ramones]], [[Patti Smith]], and others. It was there that he met [[Wendy O. Williams]] after Williams found a copy of ''[[Show Business Weekly]]'' someone had discarded on the bus station floor. The issue lay open to a page with an ad in the casting calls section for Swenson's theater show ''Captain Kink's Sex Fantasy Theater''.<ref name="Williams" /> She answered the ad and applied for a job.{{citation needed|date = January 2023}}

Williams and Swenson began auditioning potential band members in 1977 and, in July 1978, the Plasmatics gave their first public performance at what had become the rock shrine [[CBGB]] on New York City's [[Bowery]].<ref name="Williams" /> The earliest version of the band was a three-piece put together with a strong emphasis on visuals. The band quickly realized they needed another guitarist to hold them together musically. Guitarist Wes Beech joined the group and he would become, after Williams, the only permanent member of the band playing or touring behind or involved in the production of every Plasmatics and Wendy O. Williams record ever recorded.{{citation needed|date = January 2023}}
[[File:Plasmatics 1979, promo shot.jpg|thumb|The Plasmatics performing in 1979]]
From their initial gig at [[CBGB]], the Plasmatics quickly rose in the New York City punk underground scene of the time. From playing a single weekday night, they moved quickly to playing repeated stands of four nights straight with two sold-out shows each night. They had lines stretching around the block and brought more fans into CBGB during this time than any other band. The group quickly outgrew CBGB. The band's stage show soon became notorious with acts such as [[chainsaw]]ing guitars in half part of their performance.<ref name="Gimarc235">Gimarc, p.235</ref> Jim Farber of ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'' described the show: "Lead singer/ex-porn star/current weightlifter Wendy Orleans Williams (W.O.W. for short) spends most of the Plasmatics' show fondling her family size breasts, scratching her sweaty snatch and eating the drum kit, among other playful events".<ref name="Gimarc235" />

Rod Swenson soon made a deal to book what was then a little-known [[polka]] hall called [[Irving Plaza]] from the Polish War Veterans who ran it at the time. The band repeatedly sold out the venue, with the Plasmatics helping to give Irving Plaza national recognition and launch it on the path to becoming an established rock venue in New York City. Having then caught the attention of important people in the entertainment world of New York City, the Plasmatics headlined the [[Palladium (New York City)|Palladium]] on November 16, 1979, the first group in history to do so at full ticket prices and without a major label recording contract.<ref name="Deming">Deming</ref>