Exene At The Roxy, C.1980

Like I said, 1982 was a big year, when 'X' signed with Elektra Records. Here's another shot from the signing event, with Exene, Joe Smith (President of Elektra), DJ, John Doe, and Billy Zoom in front. Beer and photos were to follow...

The raw energy of 'X' performing live was hard to describe. In the early days, shown here performing at The Starwood, it was addictive. The loud music, the poetry of the moment. It was electric. 

c. 1979 The Starwood

Punk Rock. First there was the Ramones. Some would argue that first came Iggy Stooge Pop, but that’s another story. The Ramones had a major sense of humor and would reinvent the absurdity of rock’n’roll in New York in 1976.

Then in London, inspired by the Ramones, Malcolm McLaren formed the “Sex Pistols” with John Lydon and put a more serious spin on the subject of youthful alienation and what people started to call “Punk Rock”.

Next, it was LA’s turn. By 1979, our town’s best and brightest in the field was a quartet called “X”…guitar, bass, drums, and Exene.

“Punk” Rock. What the hell does “punk” mean? 

Billy Zoom played a silver Gretsch. His rockabilly roots and classic rock'n'roll riffs and licks brought the neo-retro 1950's wing of the kid culture into the audience. He was raised a musician by his father, who played with Django Reinhart.

There's a windowed room upstairs on the southeast corner of the Whiskey and you can look out and see an amazing view of the bejeweled city at night. Once Ray and I were up there and we looked down at the sidewalk and there was a line around the block to get in. He said, "Man, we own this town tonight."

Ray Manzarek, Exene, John Doe, Billy Zoom, Top Jimmy (seated).

Maybe you can imagine the feeling of being in the middle of a "mosh pit" at an 'X' concert back in '80. Maybe you've experienced it. The fast pulsing music is really loud, the bodies bouncing off of each other, sweat flying, and the energy is coursing through you, all of your senses on edge. This photo was taken at the legendary Starwood Club, from the balcony, and captures some of that energy.

Poetry is how it started. Regular attendance at the Venice Poetry Workshop in the early-mid 1970's was the equivalent of a Masters degree in modern post-Beat poetry. Every single Wednesday night for years we would sit on folding chairs, couches, and worn out easy chairs in a circle in a storefront on what is now called Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. Back then it was Washington. Everyone would read a poem and then the rest of us would hack it to pieces. If you stuck it out and didn't storm out yelling, "What do you idiots know?", and went on every Wednesday night to submit your work, you could learn to write.

Exene Cervenka wrote the poems that often became 'X' songs. The unmistakable combination of her voice with John Doe made the signature vocal sound of the band, with the rapid punk drive of drums and guitar... Best wishes to Exene as she begins a new chapter, moving this time to rural Texas from Southern California. Exene at the Roxy, c.1981

John Duchac, who would soon take the moniker "Doe", played bar band bass in Baltimore and came out here in, I think it was about 1976. He had hair hanging down in his face at first. Soon after he came to town, he started to spend his Wednesday nights at the Venice Poetry Workshop. He had a presence and an intensity and a talent. His poetry was pretty good and even the seasoned cynics in our circle had good things to say about it. It was unspoken, but we all knew he was special.

Happy Birthday to Billy Zoom! Here's one more photo from his wedding at the Whisky with Denise, in '82. This is the corner room upstairs, that looks out over Sunset Strip. Billy's powerful rockabilly guitar riffs set 'X' apart as a serious rock'n'roll band, and that smile garnered him many fans. He had already recorded several albums before joining 'X' and contributed quite a presence to the energy they created.