Copyright © 2016 by John Nommensen and Tom DeSavia All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address Da Capo Press, 44 Farnsworth Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02210. Designed by Trish Wilkinson Set in 11.25-point Giovanni by The Perseus Books Group Cataloging-in- Publication data for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: 978-0-306-82409-8 (e-book) Published by Da Capo Press A Member of the Perseus Books Group www.dacapopress.com Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the U.S. by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810- 4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail [email protected]. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Dedicated to all the fearless misfits who made it through, those who didn’t, and to X bandmates DJ, Billy & most of all Exene. —John Doe I’d like to dedicate this book to my father/best friend, who let me waste all my money on records and put up with the noise that ensued in the hopes that one day I’d figure out how to make a living from it. Also, my eternal thanks go to X, for changing everything my fifteen-year-old self thought he knew about art. I remain eternally grateful to Billy, DJ, Exene, and John. —Tom DeSavia Certainly more stories will be told about this era. To the best of our abilities, we tried to tell what we know & what we can remember. It’s likely that people & events have been left out, but that will be someone else’s story. The different perspectives & voices here reflect the collaborative, adventurous spirit that defined the early punk-rock scene in Los Angeles. We couldn’t have & didn’t want to do it alone. —John Doe Richmond, Calif. Contents Foreword by Billie Joe Armstrong Preface: Post-Apocalyptic Clowns by Tom DeSavia C 1 H Something’s Happening Here by John Doe C 2 H A Seamless Race by Exene Cervenka C 3 H . . . a hundred lives are shoved inside by John Doe C 4 H The Canterbury Tales by Jane Wiedlin C 5 H A Nonstop Crazy Party by Pleasant Gehman C 6 H Murphy Beds by John Doe C 7 H You Better Shut Up and Listen by Chris Morris C 8 H Acid, Meet Catholicism by Tom DeSavia C 9 H Take My Picture . . . by Tom DeSavia C 10 H So Young & Beautiful by John Doe C 11 H Punk-Rock Teenage Heaven by Robert Lopez aka El Vez C 12 H Starry Nights in East LA by Covarrubias/DeSavia C 13 H Go West, Go West, Go West by John Doe C 14 H The Stucco-Coated Killing Field by Henry Rollins C 15 H When It Came to Drugs by John Doe C 16 H Punk as a Young Adult by Chris D. C 17 H Stuff Gets Twisted Up by Mike Watt C 18 H Unvarnished, Detailed, West Coast by John Doe C 19 H The Almighty Song by Charlotte Caffey C 20 H Sunglasses & Cool Cars by John Doe C 21 H Descent by Jack Grisham C 22 H No Slow Songs Tonight: 1979–1982 by Dave Alvin C 23 H How to Build a New World Then Tear It Down by Kristine McKenna C 24 H My Only Friend, The End by John Doe Acknowledgments About the Authors Permissions Index
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