Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

X times 4

L.A. cow-punk band X turns 40 next year, celebrates with four nights at Casbah

X man John Doe (second from right): “The one thing that getting older teaches you is that you have a lot more gratitude for getting there.”
X man John Doe (second from right): “The one thing that getting older teaches you is that you have a lot more gratitude for getting there.”

Anybody who caught X when they were wee lads playing shows in Los Angeles circa 1977 is about to feel old: X is on the brink of turning the big 4-0.

Video:

"Johnny Hit and Run Paulene"

...by X

...by X

“The reason we’re doing four nights is because it’s the 40th anniversary next year, which is mind-blowing...and wonderful,” X singer/bassist John Doe says. “That’s the one thing that getting older teaches you, that you have a lot more gratitude for getting there. You have a birthday when you’re 30 and you think, Oh, my god, I’m 30! By the time you have a birthday when you’re 60, you’re, like, Fuck yeah! I made it! There were plenty of people in punk rock that didn’t. When you see that, and you look around and think, Shit, where’s Tomata du Plenty? Where’s Jeffrey Lee Pierce? Where’s all the Ramones? Then you think, Fuck, I’m here. This is great!”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The band has four nights booked in four cities: Seattle, San Francisco, L.A., and here at the Casbah Thursday through Sunday, with openers that include Mike Watt and the Blasters. The group has about 40 songs ready in their arsenal for the shows.

Besides celebrating the 40th anniversary of his band, Doe is also the proud new parent of his first book, Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk. The book tells the story of the early days of L.A. punk by farming out most of the chapters to the players involved in the scene. Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go’s gives an account of what it was like to be a young female at the onset of this era, while Dave Alvin (the Blasters) chronicles how the roots players fought hard to win over punk crowds.

As Chula Vista native Robert Lopez (the Zeros/El Vez) describes in his chapter, there really wasn’t a punk scene in San Diego when L.A.’s took off. So, what was it like for X when they first played in San Diego?

Past Event

X: 40 Years

  • Saturday, December 17, 2016, 8 p.m.
  • Casbah, 2501 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego
  • 21+ / $120

“There was a pretty serious rivalry between San Diego and L.A.,” Doe explains, “where people in San Diego felt a little like the kid sister or brother and they had to show us how punk rock they were. It got pretty insane. I remember one of the theater shows we did. It was a rundown place that maybe held 1000 people. Someone was climbing up onto the stage, and she was kind of known for getting onstage and starting fights. It was right near Exene [Cervenka, singer], so I just walked over there and started trying to push her off the stage. Then she grabbed me and, out of the corner of their eye one of our stage crew saw these two people, didn’t even realize one was me, and just pushed us both into the pit. Great! Thanks! By the way, you just threw one of your employers into the mosh pit!”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
Next Article

Tigers In Cairo owes its existence to Craigslist

But it owes its name to a Cure tune and a tattoo
X man John Doe (second from right): “The one thing that getting older teaches you is that you have a lot more gratitude for getting there.”
X man John Doe (second from right): “The one thing that getting older teaches you is that you have a lot more gratitude for getting there.”

Anybody who caught X when they were wee lads playing shows in Los Angeles circa 1977 is about to feel old: X is on the brink of turning the big 4-0.

Video:

"Johnny Hit and Run Paulene"

...by X

...by X

“The reason we’re doing four nights is because it’s the 40th anniversary next year, which is mind-blowing...and wonderful,” X singer/bassist John Doe says. “That’s the one thing that getting older teaches you, that you have a lot more gratitude for getting there. You have a birthday when you’re 30 and you think, Oh, my god, I’m 30! By the time you have a birthday when you’re 60, you’re, like, Fuck yeah! I made it! There were plenty of people in punk rock that didn’t. When you see that, and you look around and think, Shit, where’s Tomata du Plenty? Where’s Jeffrey Lee Pierce? Where’s all the Ramones? Then you think, Fuck, I’m here. This is great!”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The band has four nights booked in four cities: Seattle, San Francisco, L.A., and here at the Casbah Thursday through Sunday, with openers that include Mike Watt and the Blasters. The group has about 40 songs ready in their arsenal for the shows.

Besides celebrating the 40th anniversary of his band, Doe is also the proud new parent of his first book, Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk. The book tells the story of the early days of L.A. punk by farming out most of the chapters to the players involved in the scene. Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go’s gives an account of what it was like to be a young female at the onset of this era, while Dave Alvin (the Blasters) chronicles how the roots players fought hard to win over punk crowds.

As Chula Vista native Robert Lopez (the Zeros/El Vez) describes in his chapter, there really wasn’t a punk scene in San Diego when L.A.’s took off. So, what was it like for X when they first played in San Diego?

Past Event

X: 40 Years

  • Saturday, December 17, 2016, 8 p.m.
  • Casbah, 2501 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego
  • 21+ / $120

“There was a pretty serious rivalry between San Diego and L.A.,” Doe explains, “where people in San Diego felt a little like the kid sister or brother and they had to show us how punk rock they were. It got pretty insane. I remember one of the theater shows we did. It was a rundown place that maybe held 1000 people. Someone was climbing up onto the stage, and she was kind of known for getting onstage and starting fights. It was right near Exene [Cervenka, singer], so I just walked over there and started trying to push her off the stage. Then she grabbed me and, out of the corner of their eye one of our stage crew saw these two people, didn’t even realize one was me, and just pushed us both into the pit. Great! Thanks! By the way, you just threw one of your employers into the mosh pit!”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tigers In Cairo owes its existence to Craigslist

But it owes its name to a Cure tune and a tattoo
Next Article

Drinking Sudden Death on All Saint’s Day in Quixote’s church-themed interior

Seeking solace, spiritual and otherwise
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader