If the L.A. underground punk scene of the '70s (the first wave, that is) had a leader, it was Darby Crash and his band the Germs.
In the beginning, the Germs couldn't play their instruments; in fact, at the Orpheum Theater, the audience laughed at the band as they played the same song over and over while Crash, then known as Bobby Pyn (whose given name is Jan Paul Beahm), beat himself with licorice. At their first real show at the Whisky in 1977, the band threw food at the audience while they barely made it through their set; the show was recorded and later released (1982) as Germicide--Live At The Whisky 1977 (ROIR cassette). The Germs' live shows were pure mayhem, with Crash throwing himself into the audience, cutting himself with glass and screaming "We must bleed!" over and over. The Germs were the first in the scene to release vinyl with the 1977 single "Forming" on What? Records. The shows got marginally better as the "musicians" began to learn to play their instruments; the core of Crash and guitarist Pat Smear remained, but the drummer's seat was filled by numerous players until Don Bolles finally sat firmly and Lorna Doom attempted to keep time on the bass. (The Go-Go's' Belinda Carlisle and the Weirdos' Nicky Beat were both early members.) The Germs' debut LP, (GI), was the first release on Slash Records, an off-shoot of Slash Magazine. Minimalist production by Joan Jett aside, the record is a revelation, with 16 raw and maniacal tracks, penned by Crash and Smear, that rush by in controlled chaos. An L.A. Times review said it "was the most important album to come out of Los Angeles since the Doors' L.A. Woman." The rhythmic fuzz of Smear's guitar and Crash's snarl propelled songs like "Let's Pretend," "What We Do Is Secret," "Media Blitz" and "Lexicon Devil." Even the almost 10-minute "Shut Down" (recorded live) managed to sludge along in an interesting manner. The live shows were completely out of control--with Crash occasionally leaving the stage to shoot heroin--and often ended in riots. The shows were so unruly, when director Penelope Spheeris wanted to film the band for The Decline Of Western Civilization, she had to stage an invite-only performance. (The band also had a song in the infamous Al Pacino film Cruising.) Ultimately, Crash fired Bolles, which caused an uproar in and out of the band; subsequently, the Germs broke up three years after they began.
Crash formed the short-lived outfit the Darby Crash Band, and then on December 3, 1980, the Germs played a reunion show, which was Crash's last performance; the frontman shot up a lethal dose of heroin three days later, spread himself out in the shape of a cross and died. Smear went on to make solo records, played with numerous punk bands and eventually joined Nirvana--and most recently Foo Fighters. Bolles banged drums for the goth band 45 Grave and glammy late-'80s group Celebrity Skin. The posthumous What We Do Is Secret (1981) is a collection of previously recorded music. In 1996, the tribute album A Small Circle Of Friends was released, featuring many musicians influenced by the Germs. London may have had the Sex Pistols and Sid Vicious, but sunny SoCal had the equally-shocking-and-just-as-reputable Germs and the brash Darby Crash.
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