Punk Turns 30

He can't be there to front them on the Vans Warped Tour... Darby Crash. Too bad. I wonder what he would do in front of such a large crowd. Its right in the middle of the Warped tour --- have any of you gone? I haven't heard how its been going... what are the Germs like with an actor leading them? Please write and tell me! If you want to see the Germs, or Joan Jett on this tour, here's when and where the tour will be: 7/5: Phoenix (Peoria Sports Park) 7/6: Chula Vista, Calif. (Coors Amphitheatre) 7/7: Pomona, Calif. (Fairplex Park) 7/8: San Francisco (Pier 30/32) 7/9: Fresno, Calif. (Savemart Arena) 7/11: Ventura, Calif. (Seaside Park) 7/12: Los Angeles (Dodger Stadium Lot) 7/13: Sacramento, Calif. (Sleep Train Lot) 7/14: Boise, Idaho (Treasure Valley Speedway) 7/15: George, Wash. (Gorge Amphitheatre) 7/16: Portland, Ore. (Columbia Meadows) 7/18: Vancouver (Thunderbird Stadium) 7/20: Calgary (Race City Speedway) 7/23: Denver (Invesco Field) 7/25: Maryland H...

I find it quirkily appropriate to share this photo today... Together with two other photographers - Dawn Wirth and Jenny Lens - I will be sitting on a panel discussing our youth and taking pictures of punks at the Don't Knock the Rock Film Festival at 2:30 PM, Monday July 3. "City of Los Angeles, Made in Mexico" aptly describes two dear punk rock friends of mine.... Kid Congo Powers and Jeffrey Lee Pierce. If you have nothing else planned, why don't you plan on checking out "Ghost on the Highway," the long-awaited documentary about the Gun Club. It will make an encore performance on Monday night AND various members of the Gun Club will perform afterwards.... Kid Congo, Ward Dotson, Terry Graham and guest vocalists. Kid is proudly Mexican - hell, his solo album is called Solo Cholo! and Jeffrey is famously a "half breed," as he used to refer to himself and me...Jeff was half Chicano.... well, hear Kid talk about it in the movie. ...

its not polite to mention a lady's age... so I won't, BUT, let me just say that I saw Blondie in concert a couple weeks ago and Debbie Harry looks as beautiful as ever. Happy Birthday Debbie!

The next punk type band you'll fall in love with are Demons Claws from Montreal, Canada... I've been following them for about a year now...they play a crazed, wild, psychotic and unhinged strain of punk that owes as much to the woefully underrated and genius Cheater Slicks as they do to the wonderful Back from the Grave compilations. They're minimal and scary in a good way...they have a crazy sense of humor too. Notice the antlers in the shot? They are, from left to right - Ysael, Pat Meteor, Jeff, Piero and Brian. That's a slight personnel change from last year... Skip Jensen has gone off on his own and Brian is now providing the drum beats. Piero of the Fatals toured with Demons Claws this year and kept guesting with them on keyboards and guitar until it seemed he was an intrinsic part of the line up. Expect a new record later this year from the reliable In The Red Records label, based in LA. Here are the Demons Claws (and their friend BBQ ) from...