Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk

298 Pages·2016·7.82 MB·English

by  Doe

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,
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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