X were the quintessential L.A. punk rockers before they grew into a world-class rock & roll band and live band; however, enthusiasm for their unique, intelligent and humorous work never quite reached critical mass.
Formed in 1977 after songwriter and bassist
John Doe (b. Feb. 24, 1956) met (and later married)
Exene Cervenka (b. Feb. 1, 1956) at a Venice poetry workshop, with rockabilly veteran
Billy Zoom (b. Feb. 20, 194?) on guitar and
D.J. Bonebrake (b. Dec. 8, 1955) on drums, the band garnered an immediate following. "Discovered" by ex-
Doors keyboardist
Ray Manzarek, he took the band into the studio for the recording of
Los Angeles in 1980. It was curious, at a time when punks were supposed to hate hippies, that X's merging with an ex-
Door was not only tolerated, but earned them stature as California's preeminent punk band when the record earned across-the-board raves. 1981 saw the release of the similarly punked-up
Wild Gift, while their 1982 album,
Under the Big Black Sun, began what would be a long career in merging hard rock, country and folk into their fiery mix. The band successfully began to mix in their populist politics with an eye toward matters of the heart.
As the band began to reach wider audiences, both
Doe and
Cervenka enjoyed outside careers in the arts -- he as an actor in films like
Great Balls of Fire and
Roadside Prophets, and she as a poet and spoken-word artist, collaborating with
Lydia Lunch and
Wanda Coleman.
In 1983, the rootsy songs on
More Fun in the New World lent themselves to acoustic performances which the band had taken to trying live. They took it one step further on their side project,
the Knitters (with
Dave Alvin) which yielded one Slash album,
Poor Little Critter in the Road, in 1985.
Ain't Love Grand was a harder rock album in 1986 and was followed by
Zoom's departure. He was momentarily replaced by
Alvin, but for recording purposes, the band recruited
Tony Gilkyson (formerly of
Lone Justice) for
See How We Are, the band's most decidedly hard-rock record in the catalog.
Gilkyson stayed for the recording
Live at the Whisky A Go-Go in 1988 before the band took some much-needed time off, although they never broke up. In the interim,
Doe and
Cervenka had since divorced, and the pair continued to work as solo artists, releasing
Cervenka's
Old Wives Tales (Rhino, 1989) and
Running Sacred (1990) and
Doe's
Meet John Doe for Geffen in 1990.
By 1993, the band got together for the recording of
Hey Zeus!, a collection of new songs, but the response was underwhelming, and it was back to solo work.
Doe released
Kissingsohard for Rhino in 1995.
Exene also released
Surface to Air Serpents for the 2.13.61 label, as well as a reading of the Unabomber Manifesto, after changing her name to
Cervenkova. During their frequent hiatuses, X would occasionally appear in Los Angeles and San Francisco and during one stay, recorded a live album in San Francisco in 1995,
Unclogged, and self-released it.
Cervenkova's latest project is
Auntie Christ with
Bonebrake and
Matt Freeman of
Rancid.
Gilkyson also works as a solo artist. X also appeared in three films:
Penelope Spheeris' punk documentary The Decline of Western Civilization,
Urgh! A Music War, and a documentary of their lives and times,
The Unheard Music. Beginning in 1998, founding member
Billy Zoom returned to the fold for a series of on-again/off-again shows and limited touring; a pair of 2004 Los Angeles concerts were recorded and videotaped for
Live in Los Angeles, released both as an audio CD and video DVD in the spring of 2005.
1981 - Wild Gift
2000's Their System Doesn't Work for You resurrects the nine tracks from 1998's limited-edition EP, North America Sucks, and adds ten previously-unreleased, later-vintage tracks for good measure. The songs from the EP are prime Anti-Flag, political punk that never loses its sense of humor even when making its most important points. "Indie Sux, Hardline Sux, Emo Sux, You Suck!" decries the Balkanization of the D.I.Y. scene in the '90s to the album's catchiest chorus, while the title track and "Anti-Violent" take aim at the usual suspects. Unfortunately, with only a couple of exceptions, the later tracks sound like half-baked filler; indeed, the beyond-lo-fi sound suggests that they might be rough demos not originally intended to be heard outside the band, a supposition backed up by the lazy, sluggish performances, and meandering song structures. There are a few promising tracks among the dross, particularly "Betty Sue Is Dead," which makes incredibly effective use of an old-school punk-reggae middle section in the style of the Ruts, but overall, the second half of Their System Doesn't Work for You doesn't work for anybody.
