X stays true to its punk music origins/ L.A. band's tour proves it's

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jul 18, 2003 | by BILL REED

X marks the spot where punk and rockabilly merge, where Los Angeles finally got some punk cred, and where lyrics don't turn infantile just because the guitars shred.

Storied L.A. punk band X is on the road again. They have four originals on board - singer Exene Cervenka, bassist and singer John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer D.J. Bonebrake. And, despite the passage of years, they still have it.

"Another reason we're continuing to play is that we don't suck," says John Doe from a hotel room in Lexington, Ky.

"If any one of us said, 'you know we kinda suck. Let's stop, huh?' then we would.

"I think people will say, 'They've aged well. These guys really (freakin') rock for over-the-hill punk rockers. And they're not bitter, and they're not icky.' "

Doe, who turned 50 this year, may not play like an old codger, but he is starting to settle down.

He describes life on the road as much more "specific" these days, meaning that he's specifically focused on the shows rather than the extracurriculars.

"Play the show, go home and take a shower, and go to sleep," Doe says.

"Play hard and don't worry about drinking and partying . .. I'm not sober, I just don't drink as much."

It was a different story when X started off in 1977.

But the drug problems and internal strife never made the headlines - X built a reputation on music alone (and Exene's punk rock sex appeal, of course).

"That's because we're private," Doe says. "We all had drug problems. We all had emotional breakdowns and things like that. We just take care of our own (stuff) and don't try to make a career out of it."

X caught (or, rather, poked) the public eye with the 1980 debut album "Los Angeles" and the quick 1981 follow-up "Wild Gift."

As Rolling Stone puts it, X was "the most critically lauded American band of the early decade" and single-handedly vindicated West Coast punk after years of lagging behind New York and London.

Doe remembers when "Wild Gift" was the album of the year in both the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.

"I don't think you even notice it as it's happening. Youth is wasted on the young," he laments. We just thought, 'Wow, this is cool.' "

That's not to say that the members of X were young and dumb. Au contraire. They were determined to create a new sound.

It was no accident that they brought together the power of punk, Zoom's rockabilly history, primitive vocal harmonies and some of the most intelligent lyrics known to punk in classic tunes such as "Johny Hit and Run Paulene."

Doe and Exene first met at a poetry workshop, and it was these two who wrote the lyrics and sang them. The couple resonated musically and otherwise - they got married, later divorced, and then buried the hatchet and got on with making music. "We settled that long ago," Doe says. "When we did that record 'Ain't Love Grand' (in 1985) it was hard. That was a long time ago."

But X is digging up bones on this tour. They're concentrating on the material from their cowpunk glory years - 1980-1983 - while ignoring the '90s country-rock phase that just didn't measure up.

History has been kind to their legacy and re-releases of their early albums are ensuring that old vinyl makes it to CD collections.

"The first four albums, that was the most original stuff we did," Doe says. "We're just concentrating on the punk rock."

THE DETAILS

X in concert Opener: Reno Divorce, The Fags Where: 32 Bleu When: 9:30 p.m. tonight Tickets: $25; all ages; call 955-5664 or check out www. ticketweb.com