X: "I just have to know if guitars are in or out …"

Thrasher Magazine, August, 2004 by Wez Lundry

X IS ONE OF THE BEST EARLY PUNK BANDS in the US; their first few albums are classics that helped form the genre of punk rock before hardcore sped everything up. Exene and John Doe's slightly off-kilter harmonizing were unique, and their songs stand the test of time. The original lineup broke up in 1985, but reformed in 1998 to play some shows. They've been playing sporadically since then, but stopped creating new material. There's a funny catch-22 about this: often old punk bands reform and write new material that stinks to high heaven, which is sad, but what to do when old punk bands reunite to play only their old stuff? A sort of punk rock nostalgia trip, I guess, but if anyone can pull it off it's X, and you know it works when 25-year-old songs make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. X--as if they need introductions--is Exene Cervenka on vocals, John Doe on bass and vocals, DJ Bonebreak on drums, and Billy Zoom on guitar. I sat down with Billy Zoom before a recent show.

What are you up to lately? Do you still own an amplifier store?

I'm not doing it anymore. I'm in the studio, supposedly, full time. And my wire and I just bought a house and we're fixing that up.

When did X get back together and start doing shows again?

January '98. We did a whole tour, and we've been playing out periodically since then. Today is my birthday. I'm 56.

You don't look a day over 55. You're aging well.

Thank you.

Are you writing new songs?

No. Not together. John and Exene and DJ are all in their own bands writing songs, and I produce.

What made decide to get back together?

I was reluctant. But everything fell into place.

Did you ever meet Richard Gere? How was that?

Well, he was hanging around when we were making one of our albums and when we did "Breathless." Since then I've fixed his amp a couple times. He plays guitar or bass?

No. He has guitars and amps, but he doesn't play. He's sort of a pain in the ass, because he'll obsess about things like, "The amp has two channels and when I turn the volume knob for this channel from three to four I hear a noticeable difference. But on this channel I have to turn it from three to four and a half before l hear the same difference. Can you fix that?"

But what is he playing?

Nothing. He just likes to have some weird guitars and amps, as do most people who have more money than they know what to do with. I said just turn the amp as loud as you want it, don't look at the numbers.

Do you still ride a Vespa?

Nope. They passed the helmet law in '91 and I stopped. It messed up my hair. I rode around the back yard, chased the cat once. They wrecked it.

If you were worried about your hair, I guess. You guys ever skate?

I did once in 1965. I fell off and tore my new pants, I never tried it again.

Do you remember what kind of skateboard it was?

Were there different kinds back then? I don't know. When was "Sidewalk Surfin'" on the charts? 1964. The Beatles were on at the same time.

When did you pick up the guitar?

This is my 50th year as a guitarist. I started with the piano, violin, guitar, and accordion. Then I studied woodwinds for 10 years. But I had a guitar, and I wanted to play like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers since I was six and they were my heroes. There was always a guitar around; my dad played.

Here's a copy of your first record I bought at Epicenter in San Francisco a while back. Can you read the sticker on it?

"X: Best band ever until they turned country." The back cover is three different pictures. They couldn't ever get a picture of the four of us looking good at the same time, so they used three and put them together. What do you think about the band The Darkness?

I feel the darkness. Actually, I don't know them.

You'll have to go home and watch MTV.

Do you watch MTV?

I have to see what is out there. I have to listen to the new stuff that sells.

Is that an excuse?

I just have to know if guitars are in or out, what's happening. The Darkness is the beginning of the new 20-year-old heavy metal revival that is going to hit for the next few years.

I don't listen to the radio. Not much.

Do you like MGs?

Booker T and the MGs?

The cars.

Yeah, but they are famously unreliable.

They can be, if you try to treat them like an American car.

I'm a MOPAR guy. And I like Japanese motorcycles, old ones.

I like Triumphs and Nortons.

Again, famously unreliable. What is it with the English?

They all have very unreliable electrical systems.

And they all leak oil.

But it keeps the bottoms from rusting. If you fix the electrical systems, they're not a problem. They're all Lucas Electronics. There's an old British car joke: Why do the British drink their beer warm? Refrigeration by Lucas. The British really got their butts kicked in World War II, and for 20 years after that materials were still rationed so It was hard to get tooling machines, so a lot of stuff was handmade. And that counts for a lot of of the problems.