Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PUNK'S NOT DEAD IN CALIFORNIA
In the 1970s, American airwaves were jammed with commercial arena rock that record
companies paid DJs to shill like laundry soap, much to the articulate ire of California rock
critics Lester Bangs and Greil Marcus. California teens bored with prepackaged anthems
started making their own with secondhand guitars, three chords and crappy amps that
added a loud buzz to their unleashed fury.
LA punk paralleled the scrappy local skate scene with the hardcore grind of Black Flag
from Hermosa Beach and the Germs from LA. LA band X bridged punk and new wave
from 1977 to 1987 with John Doe's rockabilly guitar, Exene Cervenka's angsty wail, and
disappointed-romantic lyrics inspired by Charles Bukowski and Raymond Chandler. Local
LA radio station KROQ rebelled against the tyranny of playlists, putting local punk on the
airwaves and launching punk-funk sensation the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
San Francisco's punk scene was arty and absurdist, in rare form with Dead Kennedys
singer (and future San Francisco mayoral candidate) Jello Biafra howling 'Holiday in
Cambodia.' That was suitably anarchic for a city where local band the Avengers opened
for the Sex Pistols' 1978 San Francisco show.
Post-Punk to Pop
The 1980s saw the rise of such influential LA crossover bands as Bad Religion (punk) and
Suicidal Tendencies (hardcore/thrash), while more mainstream all-female bands the
Bangles and the Go-Gos, new wavers Oingo Boingo, and rockers Jane's Addiction and
Red Hot Chili Peppers took the world by storm. Bangin' out of Hollywood, Guns N'
Roses was the '80s hard-rock band of choice. On avant-garde rocker Frank Zappa's 1982
single
Valley Girl
, his 14-year-old daughter Moon Unit taught the rest of America to say
'Omi
go
-o-od!' like an LA teenager.
By the 1990s alternative rock acts like Beck and Weezer had gained national presence.
Hailing from East LA, Los Lobos was king of the Chicano (Mexican American) bands, an
honor that has since passed to Ozomatli. Another key '90s band was Orange County's ska-
punk-alt-rock No Doubt, which later launched the solo career of lead singer Gwen Stefani.
Berkeley's 924 Gilman Street club revived punk in the '90s, including with Grammy
Award-winning Green Day.
