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| X | |
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| Origin | Los Angeles, CA, USA |
| Genre(s) | Punk rock Rock |
| Years active | 1977-1993, 2004-present |
| Label(s) | Slash |
| Associated acts | Auntie Christ The Knitters Original Sinners |
| Website | Xtheband.com |
| Members | |
| Exene Cervenka John Doe Billy Zoom D.J. Bonebrake |
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| Former members | |
| Dave Alvin Tony Gilkyson |
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X is an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1977.[1] While they achieved only limited mainstream success, they were widely considered one of the most influential, accessible and tuneful of Los Angeles' many punk bands.[2] [1] Their 1980 record Los Angeles resonated so loudly with the citizens of the city that it is named after, that the band received an Official Certificate of Recognition from the City of Los Angeles in acknowledgment of their important contributions to Los Angeles music and culture.[3] They were hugely influential on various genres of music, including punk, hardcore punk, and folk.[4]
Original members were Exene Cervenka (born Christine Cervenka, vocals), John Doe (born John Duchac, bass and vocals), Billy Zoom (born Tyson Kindell, guitar) and DJ Bonebrake (born Donald J. Bonebrake, drums). After Zoom retired from the band, Tony Gilkyson replaced him on guitar. Zoom reunited with X in 1998. The original line-up now periodically tours.[1]
Their first four albums had a hard-driving sound that occasionally flirted with country and blues; one critic suggests that X "were not just one of the greatest punk bands, but one of the greatest live rock acts of all time."[5] By the time of their fifth album, Ain't Love Grand!, the band had taken a more mainstream rock-oriented direction, and began to appear on shows such as American Bandstand. X, however, had previously appeared on television for a 1984 performance on Late Night with David Letterman.[6]
In many ways – from songwriting to performances – X's first albums were distinctive when compared to many of their punk peers (except Cervenka, all band members had previous musical experience before forming X). One critic writes that X were "too self-conscious, artsy and ambitious to simply spew" in typical punk fashion.[7][2]
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History
X was founded by bassist/singer John Doe and guitarist Billy Zoom. Doe brought his poetry-writing girlfriend Exene Cervenka to band practices, and she eventually joined the band as a vocalist. Drummer DJ Bonebrake was the last of the original members to join.
X's first record deal was with independent label Dangerhouse, for which the band produced two singles, "Los Angeles" and "Adult Books". The Dangerhouse session version of "Los Angeles" was also featured in a Dangerhouse compilation called "Yes L.A." (a play on the now-famous No Wave compilation No New York), a picture disc that featured other early-punk-era LA bands like the Weirdos and Black Randy. As the band became the flag bearer for the local scene, a larger independent label, Slash Records, signed the band to issue its first LP.[6]
The result was their first LP release, Los Angeles (1980) (produced by The Doors' keyboard player, Ray Manzarek). It was a minor hit and was well received by the underground press and mainstream media.[8] Much of X's early material had a rockabilly edge.[9] Doe and Cervenka co-wrote most of the group's songs, and their slightly off-kilter harmony vocals remain perhaps the group's most distinctive element. Their lyrics tended to be straight-out poetry, with comparisons to Charles Bukowski and Raymond Chandler were made from the start.[10]
Their follow-up effort, 1981's Wild Gift, broadened the band's profile when it was named "Record of the Year" by Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and the Village Voice.[11] Wild Gift, like their debut album, was released on Slash records, and was similar in musicial style, although Wild Gift featured shorter, faster songs; arguably their most stereotypically punk-sounding record.[6]
X then signed to Elektra in 1982 to release Under the Big Black Sun, which marked a slight departure from their trademark sound. While still fast and loud, the album's country leanings were evolving and its raw punk sound was channeling raw guitar power chords. The album was heavily influenced by the premature death of Exene Cervenka's elder sister Mirielle (Mary) in an automobile accident in 1980. Three songs on the album, "Riding With Mary", "Come Back To Me", and the title track all directly relate to the tragedy. A fourth, a high-speed version of Leadbelly's "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes", was indirectly attributed to Exene Cervenka's mournful state of mind years later. The stark black & white cover art and title were also a reflection of the somber mood of the band during this time. Nonetheless, this album remains Exene's favorite X album (see liner notes of the recent CD release for affirmation).[12]
1983 saw the release of the More Fun in the New World album. X slightly redefined their sound with this release, making it somewhat more polished, eclectic and radio-ready than in previous albums. Some of the band's fan base[who?] from their earliest LA area gigging days were disappointed, feeling the band had taken a more commercial approach. With the sound moving away from punk rock, the band's rockabilly influence became even more noticeable, along with some new elements like funk on the track "True Love pt. II" and Woody Guthrie-influenced folk protest songs like "The New World" and "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts." The record received critical praise from Rolling Stone and Playboy, who had long been stalwart supporters and fans of X and their sound.[12]
A side project of some of the band members was Poor Little Critter In The Road in 1985, under the name The Knitters: X minus Zoom, plus Dave Alvin (of The Blasters) on guitar and Johnny Ray Bartel (of The Red Devils) on double bass. The Knitters were devoted to folk and country music; their take of Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings" "may be the definitive version."[13]
Despite the overwhelmingly positive critical reception for their first 4 albums, the band was frustrated by its lack of wider mainstream success. Billy Zoom had also stated that he would leave the band unless its next album was not more successful. The band decided to change producers in search of a more accessible sound. Their 5th record, Ain't Love Grand, was produced by pop-metal producer Michael Wagener. It featured a drastic change in sound, especially in the polished and layered production, while the band's punk roots were little in evidence, replaced by a countrified version of hard rock. The change in production was hoped to bring the band more chart success, but although it got somewhat more mainstream radio play than their earlier releases, it did not represent a commercial breakthrough. Zoom left the group shortly thereafter in 1986, the same year in which the feature-length documentary film, X The Unheard Music was released.
Zoom was initially replaced by Alvin on guitar. The band then added a 5th member, guitarist Tony Gilkyson, formerly of the band Lone Justice. By the time the band released its 6th album, See How We Are, Alvin had already left the band, although he plays on the record. Like Ain't Love Grand the album's sound was fairly far removed from the band's punk origins, yet featured a punchy, energetic, hard-rocking roots rock sound that in many ways represented a more natural progression from their earlier sound than the previous record had. After touring for the album, X released a live record of the tour entitled Live at the Whisky a Go-Go, and then went on an extended hiatus. [6]
X regrouped in the early 1990s to record their 7th studio album, Hey Zeus!. The album marked somewhat of a retreat from the increasingly roots-rock direction that the band's past few records had gone in, instead featuring an eclectic alternative-rock sound that fit in well with the then-current musical climate. Despite this, it failed to become a hit, although two of its songs, Country at War and New Life peaked at numbers 15 and 26 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts, respectively. The band followed it with an acoustic live album Unclogged in 1995.
In 1997, X released a compilation called Beyond and Back: The X Anthology, which focused heavily on the early years with Billy Zoom, included a number of previously unreleased versions of songs that had appeared on their previous albums. At the same time, they also announced that they were disbanding. However, they did a farewell tour to promote the compilation in 1998, with Zoom returning on guitar. The tour ended up leading to a permanent semi-reunion of the original lineup. Although the band has not released an album of new material since 1993, it continues to perform live with Zoom on guitar.
'X: The Unheard Music' was released on DVD in 2005, as was the concert DVD 'X: Live In Los Angeles', which commemorates the 25th anniversary of the band’s landmark debut album, Los Angeles.[14]
In 2005, Doe, Cervenka and Bonebrake reunited with Dave Alvin and Johnny Ray Bartel to release a second Knitters album, 20 years after the first, entitled The Modern Sound of the Knitters. In summer 2006, X toured North America on the "As The World Burns" Tour 2006 with the Rollins Band and Riverboat Gamblers. Starting in the Spring of 2008, X is touring on their "13X31 Tour", with Skybombers and the Detroit Cobras, with all original members. "13X31" is a reference to their 31st Anniversary.[4]
Over the years, both Doe and Cervenka have released solo albums, with Doe moved more toward roots music in his solo work. While Cervenka's solo albums have also been in a more folk or country vein, she has also fronted punk bands like Auntie Christ and The Original Sinners. Since 1986, Doe has also maintained a busy second career as an actor, appearing in such films as Oliver Stone's Salvador, Allison Anders' Border Radio and Sugar Town, the Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire, Miguel Arteta's The Good Girl, Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights, and the independent feature Roadside Prophets, in which he starred with Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz. He was a regular cast member of the television series Roswell on WB Television Network and UPN.[2][15]
Discography
- 1980 - Los Angeles
- 1981 - Wild Gift
- 1982 - Under the Big Black Sun
- 1983 - More Fun in the New World
- 1985 - Ain't Love Grand!
- 1987 - See How We Are
- 1988 - Live at the Whisky a Go-Go (Live)
- 1993 - Hey Zeus!
- 1995 - Unclogged (Live)
- 1997 - Beyond and Back: The X Anthology
- 2004 - The Best: Make the Music Go Bang![1]
Filmography
- 1981 - The Decline of Western Civilization
- 1981 - Urgh! A Music War
- 1986 - X: The Unheard Music
- 2003 - Mayor of the Sunset Strip
- 2005 - X - Live in Los Angeles
External links
References
- ^ a b c d Hoard, Christian; Nathan Brackett [2004-10-30]. Rolling Stone Album Guide. Fireside. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ a b c Wirt, John (2008-05-30). "Reunited X stops in N.O.", The Advocate and WBRZ.
- ^ http://www.concertwire.com/event/511469/x/
- ^ a b Hinson, Mark (2008-05-30). "Exene Cervenka and X back under the Florida sun", Tallahassee Democrat.
- ^ allmusic ((( Live at the Whisky a Go-Go > Overview )))
- ^ a b c d George-Warren, Holly; Romanowski, Patricia [2001-10-30]. The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Revised and Updated for the 21st Century), Pareles, Jon, Fireside. ISBN 978-0743201209.
- ^ "X". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
- ^ The song list listed as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll
- ^ http://www.markprindle.com/xa.htm
- ^ Robert Hillburn, Los Angeles Times, 1982
- ^ Trucks, Rob (2008-05-20). "Interview: Exene Cervenka of X", The Village Voice.
- ^ a b Jocoy, Jim; Moore , Thurston [November 2002]. We're Desperate: The Punk Rock Photography of Jim Jocoy, SF/LA 1978-1980, Cervenka, Exene, powerHouse Books. ISBN 978-1576871560.
- ^ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:xl5j8qbtbtz4 allmusic ((( Poor Little Critter on the Road > Overview )))
- ^ Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas [2002-04-16]. in Bogdanov, Vladimir: All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul, 3rd, Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0879306533.
- ^ Bessy, Claude; Morris, Chris (February 2000). in Carillo, Sean: Forming: The Early Days of L.A. Punk, Cervenka, Exene; Doe, John, Smart Ass Press. ISBN 978-1889195445.
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