Alycen Rowse never asks for permission to tell her story. Furthermore, she certainly refuses to soften it for the sake of comfort. Fans and critics alike know her as one of rock music’s most notorious and sought-after groupies. For nearly three decades, Rowse lived in the shadows of amplifiers, tour buses, and backstage hallways. Consequently, she formed deep, complicated relationships with some of the most iconic figures in music history.
Her life, as she boldly tells it, does not revolve around scandal for shock’s sake. On the contrary, it centers on choice, agency, and a culture that most people judge without ever truly understanding.
Small Town Origins and Hunger for More
Miners raised Alycen in New Mexico, but her childhood shifted early when her father’s career moved the family to Salem, Missouri. This small town could not have been further from the wild world she would eventually inhabit. Her mother, an educator and school principal, grounded the household in discipline and structure.
However, even in that quiet environment, Alycen felt a magnetic pull toward something louder, freer, and significantly less confined. She insists her love affair wasn’t just with rock stars. In reality, it was with music itself.
“It was music in general,” Alycen explained to me. “Music has so many exciting elements. Like looking at a Beatles cover and identifying with it. I love music so much.”
The Encounter That Changed Everything
That fascination took root early. At only 14, she traveled to Kansas City, where chance encounters became life-altering moments. There, she met members of Van Halen and, most memorably, David Lee Roth. She lost her virginity to him, an experience she describes as the beginning of a path she consciously chose. This path stood in stark contrast to the small-town future that lay before her.
“We were part of the Masons,” she recalled. “There’s a female side called the Rainbow Girls. We’d go to conventions and stay at hotels like the Hyatt Regency. I remember seeing David Lee Roth coming downstairs in his fedora, khakis, and a red sweatshirt. He jumped in the hot tub next to us and said, ‘Hey, ladies.’ I saw an opportunity, and I took it. It was either a small-town boy or David Lee Roth — I chose David Lee Roth.
Therefore, that decision marked the start of a life lived on her own terms. It would eventually take her backstage with legends spanning genres and generations.
Writing Her Own Legacy
Her memoir, We’ve Got Tonight: The Life and Times of Notorious Groupie Alycen Rowse, pulls no punches. Interestingly, the title itself arrived unexpectedly.
“I couldn’t figure out a name,” she said. “Then I was driving and Bob Seger’s ‘We’ve Got Tonight’ came on the radio, and I knew that was it. Later, after the John Entwistle scandal, radio stations kept calling me ‘the notorious groupie Alycen Rowse.’ I just put them together.”
Inside the book, readers find stories involving Metallica, Scorpion, and even Tupac Shakur during his Digital Underground days. However, Alycen remains clear on one point: the memoir isn’t about body counts or gossip. Instead, it highlights human connection.
Redefining the “Groupie” Label
When I asked how she defines the word groupie, she pushed back hard against the stereotype.
“Society sees it as a derogatory slander,” she argued. “But it’s really just a different kind of friendship. We were the women who kept these guys sane on the road. Tours lasted two years. There was respect, connection, and intimacy beyond the bedroom. We were road wives. We were family.”
Moreover, she is adamant about one thing: the rock world she lived in was not predatory.
“Nobody forced anyone to do anything,” Alycen emphasized. “Rock and roll was a protective world for us. We were seen, heard, and not judged. No meant no. I’ve never felt safer or freer to be myself.”
Honest Choices and Real Consequences
Her blunt honesty extends to how she entered that world.
“If I was going to be a slut,” she said without hesitation, “go big or go home. I got a fake ID and went to the hotel bar.”
Despite the bravado, Alycen speaks with surprising clarity about emotional boundaries. Rock stars, she notes, make incredible friends and lovers. However, they make terrible husbands.
“They’ll never be faithful,” she explained. “And I liked that they didn’t have that responsibility to me.”
Subsequently, when I asked about the long-circulated rumor regarding the number of rock stars she’s been with, Alycen smiled.
“It was 78,” she said. “Now it’s 79.”
The Night Everything Changed
One of the most pivotal moments in her life occurred when she was with John Entwistle of The Who at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas the night he died. That experience fundamentally changed her.
“That was 17 years into my groupie life,” she reflected. “It reshaped everything. I couldn’t stay in Vegas anymore. I always wanted to be the girl behind the scenes, never the one in front. That night sent me down a path I never planned.”
What It Takes to Survive the Scene
Asked what separates groupies from everyone else, Alycen doesn’t hesitate.
“Patience. Being comfortable alone. Loyalty. And the ability to create a life outside of the rock stars, while still being a true friend.”
She also acknowledges how different today’s music industry feels compared to the golden era she experienced.
“It’s corporate now. Even on guest lists, I have to be approved by Live Nation. Roadies come from college. What’s missing is fun and laughter.”
Facing Critics and Moving Forward
Criticism has followed her for decades. Nevertheless, Alycen welcomes scrutiny — on her terms.
“Don’t judge from the outside,” she said. “Come to my channel. Watch the interviews — mine, other girls’, ex-wives’. Listen to us tell our own stories. Stop trying to tell it for us.”
She believes judgment of groupies roots itself in both sexism and misunderstanding.
“Women have always been punished for stepping outside the norm,” she said. “It’s sexism and confusion wrapped together. No matter what we do, we’re criticized.”
Today, Alycen lives as she always has, independently.
“I’ve always owned my life,” she said. “I worked when I wanted, traveled when I wanted. I left a regular job last June. Now I’m focused on my second book and making this my career.”
Advice for the Next Generation
If a young woman wanted to follow in Alycen’s footsteps, Alycen’s advice would remain grounded and firm.
“Know yourself. Know your boundaries. No is always no. Don’t date the rock star persona — get to know the man. Never talk about music. Just enjoy it. And fly by the seat of your pants — because it’s going to be a blast.”
Finally, I asked if she had any regrets.
“Absolutely not,” Alycen stated.
When it’s all over, and when her story becomes history, Alycen Rowse wants people to remember one thing:
“That I was brave. I had a good time. It’s not easy being a woman society condemns — but I did it my way.”
To watch the full interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BhBsfPzvIs
First published in TheNarrativeMatters.com
Photo Credit by Alycen Rowse
