JANUARY - APRIL 1980

1980 will bring unimaginable changes to my life and the end of my participation in the L.A. scene.  I wouldn't be the only one though. Hardcore was starting to take root, girls were no longer willing to enter the "pit" because it had become so violent, and the Hollywood vs. Beach punk wars escalated out of control to where you feared for your life if you stepped outside your turf.

January 19th was my last visit to the Hong Kong Cafe.  I suspect it was another place that came and went as a venue and then fizzled out.

I guess the most significant new act of this period that I saw was the Circle Jerks.  Keith Morris was no longer in Black Flag and had picked up a new band along the way, a band that would put out six or seven albums over the next decade.  Some call them hardcore but I think they had too much melody to be a straight on hardcore band.  They were all punk rock however.

As I look at the list I get a bit sad knowing that the L.A. scene that I had come to now and love would fizzle out in it's original incarnation over that next year.  Darby Crash committed sucide in Decmeber of '80, virtually the same day that one of my earliest heroes, John Lennon, was shot to death.

I started dating the woman that would become my wife in February of '80 and we are still married to this day.  She wasn't punk although she came to enjoy many of the bands that I liked like the Ramones and Undertones.  Those were the only two bands she ever saw live until a few years ago when I dragged her along to see the Richmond Sluts.

I have no amusing anecdotes to share from this time period, having used them all up in the 70's.  It is a time I will always remember with extreme fondness.  I am very proud to have been a part of one of the world's pioneering punk scenes even if it was only as a fan.  It is amazing to read how many times you see someone say "The Ramones changed my life." after seeing them live or hearing their first album.  It was that way for me too.  It led me to a scene that I was a part of from the beginning and 3 years beyond that.  I have never heard anyone say anything other than it was one of the best periods of their life and one they were proud to have been a part of.  Me too.

The people that helped form the original scene were an eclectic mixture of misfits.  I think if you asked any one of them, they would tell you that they felt like they didn't belong in the "normal" world.  Punk was a place where you could be yourself and feel that you belonged to something much bigger than yourself.  

By 1980, the original cast of characters had begun to disperse and by the end of '80, most had given up.  "Live fast, die young" could describe the original scene well.  It was great while it lasted but all good things must come to an end.  I can't imagine something like this happening today.  Punk has become so commercialized and is no longer thought of as "dangerous".  That was part of the appeal.  Being part of of something that was so outside the norm.

Thanks for reading....

Here's a summary of the bands and number of times I saw them during this period.  Since this time I have seen many of these bands again after reforming such as the Dogs, Weirdos, Rubber City Rebels and Dickies.  I also saw the Ramones just about every year from '80 on up through their demise in the mid-90's.  It's still very hard to take that 3 of the 4 original Ramones are dead.  I also saw The Dogs, Pop!, Berlin Brats, Van Halen, etc.  several times prior to 1977 before I started my list so those numbers are not represented here.

One additional souvenir that I was able to get sometime in the 80's was a Johnny Ramone guitar pick.  Each year they would roll into L.A. and play a large venue like the Palladium but they would also play a "secret" show at the Whiskey or Roxy for the true fans.  I was lucky enough to see most of the secret shows too and that was where I collected my Johnny Ramone guitar pick.  I would like to also say that the fans in Phoenix who went to the final show that they would play here are bunch of idiots.  Would it be so hard to chant "Hey Ho, Let's Go!" and get one encore?  Pathetic. 

Since this time, I have seen many great bands such as Social Distortion, Stiff Little Fingers, the Undertones, Jeff Dahl, Queers, Muffs, Groovie Ghoulies, etc.

The 80's weren't a particularly joyous time music wise for me because it was more of a hardcore decade and I longed for a Ramones style pop song or something with a more distinct rock beat.  The 90's and up to this day have produced a ton of great bands that fall in these categories and the music is a joy again as it always should have been.

I have channeled my energies into providing a site where people can come to get information about their favorite bands, how to contact them and what music they have put out.  I will continue to expand upon this story as I get new information or remember things myself.  I also had the great privilege of releasing a CD by two of my favorite bands of the 70's L.A. scene, Shock and the Silencers.  A also put out a CD by the best band to come out of the mid-80's L.A. scene too, the Black Jax.

I hope you have enjoyed this story and continue to enjoy the site.

Willy