Under the Big Black Sun explores the nascent Los Angeles punk rock movement and its evolution to hardcore punk as it’s never been told before. Authors John Doe and Tom DeSavia have woven together an enthralling story of the legendary west coast scene from 1977-1982 by enlisting the voices of people who were there. The book shares chapter-length tales from the authors along with personal essays from famous (and infamous) players in the scene. Additional authors include: Exene Cervenka (X), Henry Rollins (Black Flag), Mike Watt (The Minutemen), Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey (The Go-Go’s), Dave Alvin (The Blasters), Jack Grisham (TSOL), Teresa Covarrubias (The Brat), Robert Lopez (The Zeros, El Vez), as well as scencesters and journalists Pleasant Gehman, Kristine McKenna, and Chris Morris. Through interstitial commentary, John Doe “narrates” this journey through the land of film noir sunshine, Hollywood back alleys, and suburban sprawl-the place where he met his artistic counterparts Exene, DJ Bonebrake, and Billy Zoom-and formed X, the band that became synonymous with, and in many ways defined, L.A. punk.

Under the Big Black Sun shares stories of friendship and love, ambition and feuds, grandiose dreams and cultural rage, all combined with the tattered, glossy sheen of pop culture weirdness that epitomized the operations of Hollywood’s underbelly. Readers will travel to the clubs that defined the scene, as well as to the street corners, empty lots, apartment complexes, and squats that served as de facto salons for the musicians, artists, and fringe players that hashed out what would become punk rock in Los Angeles.
– From the inside bookflap, and also at John Doe’s books webpage

While I’m slowly working through Stalingrad I thought I’d try to get to books I wanted to post on but just haven’t had a chance yet. The other day I saw a review of the recently released More Fun in the New World by John Doe and TomDeSavia, which I’m looking forward to reading, and realized I had never posted on Doe’s first book. I’ll try and fix that.

LA punk was born from rock ‘n’ roll and one of the last steps—in the evolution of rock ‘n’ roll music. Although legends were born from this scene, there were very few stars and really no celebrities. This is an attempt to tell the story. When John and I first spoke of writing this book, I told him I thought it was important for the true story of LA punk rock to be told. He replied that everyone in the scene probably had their own truth to tell. He would be interested in that story, regardless of whether it matched his own memory. So here it is—the many true stories from a mostly undocumented era in cultural history. This book is about that time. (Tom DeSavia, xxii)

The book provides stories from those that participated in (and survived) the early LA punk era. The scene began to form around 1975 but came into its own by 1977, and the book focuses on that era up to about 1982. It’s interesting to see the various recollections of how this loose communal experience came into being. Former glam rock fans becomes a common source, which made more sense the more I read through the chapters. It’s also interesting to see who was included in the scene, groups like The Go-Gos and Los Lobos that you wouldn’t necessarily place with The Germs or Black Flag. Like the sources, though, it all fits together. Normal people, misanthropic misfits, and addled geniuses (and plenty of just-addled) came together and formed…well, we’re probably still not sure quite what.

I’ll disagree on Doe’s use of “undocumented era,” although he’s not completely wrong, either. There was plenty of documentation of the scene at the time but usually not in high-circulation media. As the contributors note, LA’s punk scene consistently placed well behind those in New York City and London when it came to coverage. One of the constant themes was how tight-knit and welcoming the early participants were, which drew in writers making their own fanzines and other outlets. Slash magazine became one of the most important outlets for writers interested in the scene. Existing from 1977 to 1980, the fanzine brought info on the LA punk scene to a worldwide audience. It also was the impetus for the founding of the Slash Records label (and its subsidiary Ruby Records). Coverage also began to go beyond alternative weeklies like the Los Angeles Reader to frequent notices in the Los Angeles Times. Coverage wasn’t always positive, but that doesn’t seem to have bothered anyone in the scene at the time.

Two important factors in the development of the LA punk scene revolved around where the participants lived and the venues that allowed the groups to perform and practice (such as The Masque). The stories from those that lived close to Hollywood venues allowing the punk bands to practice and play formed a community of sorts, where practice, play, and afterparties were the order of each day. Those that lived some distance from Hollywood usually talk about day jobs that funded their trips to the clubs and the groups they formed. Although not part of the closer-knit locals, acceptance was the order of the day with the scene (early on, especially). Kristine McKenna, a music writer at the time, captures both the volatility of the performances and the acceptance from audiences:

People who went to punk shows in the early days were respectful, they listened, and they were genuinely interested in the band onstage, even if they’d seen the same bank four nights earlier. We knew we’d always see something new, partly because these were mostly not professional musicians, and nobody did the same show twice, because they weren’t able to. Professionalism came later for some, but in the beginning the scene was truly experimental, and the audience was tolerant and supportive. … We believed we were dangerous and subversive back in the day, but in fact, we were babies, yet to rub the fairy dust from our eyes. (241)

One risk for participants writing about a past movement is glamorizing what happened. While there is an occasional patina of romanticization, it’s usually on a more personal level than ascribing it to the scene as a whole. Several reasons are given for the end of the “golden age” of the LA punk scene, around 1980, and these are anything but glamorized. Accidental deaths and suicides, drug abuse, incursions by violent types, record label signings, and the music splintering into various genres (hardcore, roots, country, etc.) pulled apart the feeling of community that had developed during the frenzied growth.

The sections I enjoyed the most centered on the east-side culture. Although late to the Hollywood scene, these bands mastered their own approach, paving the way for a sizable movement. Teresa Covarrubias of The Brat wrote my favorite chapter, going into detail on how the sense of geography (which was largely a factor of race), provided a healthy sense of camaraderie, competition and development within the East LA scene. In a way it was similar to what had developed in Hollywood, but there were many important differences.

I’ll close with a John Doe quote that sums up a large part of the book:

This is how bonds & alliances were made & broken. This is how a bunch of outsiders, fuckups & loners turned into a bohemian, punk-rock community. People exchanged stories of where they came from, crazy shit they had done in their young lives, ideas of what was & wasn’t cool or what was or wasn’t punk rock. It was like going to the strangest, coolest graduate school of music, art & life, even though everyone was just fucking around having a wild time. (55)

What follows is of no interest to anyone else, so skip this paragraph unless you can tolerate someone strolling down amnesia lane. Regarding the noteworthy bands and names mentioned in the book, I saw X live twice. The first time was at a University of Alabama pep rally some time after their release of Under the Big Black Sun, so it must have been the fall of 1982. I can’t remember if the pep rally was for homecoming or the Alabama/Auburn game. I still can’t believe they got booked in Foster Auditorium! The second time was in Dallas in 1986, a bit after Ain’t Love Grand and The Knitters album was out. On this tour, Billy Zoom had left and Dave Alvin replaced him. Moving on… The Minutemen played one of the greatest sets I’ve seen, and I saw Mike Watt again with firehose. Strangely (or at least I view it that way), the two names from the book I’ve seen the most are Javier and Alejandro Escovedo. Javier was with The Zeros in LA for a brief time, while Alejandro was with The Nuns out of San Francisco, so they are minor characters in the book. It was with The True Believers I saw both of them over a dozen times, and if you add the times I saw Alejandro with Rank and File (in Memphis’ Antenna Club…sa-lute!) and solo, he would be performer I’ve seen the most, all-time. Never sat down to try and figure that out before now. As I asked, forgive the babbling.

Links:

Review of More Fun in the New World: The Unmaking and Legacy of L.A. Punk by John Doe and Tom DeSavia at Billboard.com. Includes an excerpt from the book by Charlotte Caffey of The Go-Gos.

An excerpt from Under the Big Black Sun by Henry Rollins.

There are excerpts from the book at the Da Capo Press link at the top of the post.

Under The Big Black Sun: A Conversation with John Doe and Mike Watt at SXSW Music 2016

Slash magazine archives (Note: link no longer works. If anyone has an update on the whereabouts of the archives, please let me know.)

Punk flyers from 1977 Los Angeles, with additional, related links

Movies with appearances by X can usually be found for free somewhere. X: The Unheard Music is currently available on SnagFilms and The Decline of Western Civilization, which covers some of the L.A. punk scene around 1980, can be currently be found for free on tubi and Pluto channels.

Ears, Eyes and Throats: Restored Classic and Lost Punk Films 1976-1981, ten short films from punk and alternative bands of the time is usually available somewhere on the internet (I update the links, but they keep dying…hopefully a current search for you will turn it up).