Pioneering Punk Band X On The Evolution Of LA Punk — And What It Means In 'The New World'

The first wave of punk rock growled out of the economic and social malaise of New York and London in the mid-1970s. But Los Angeles played a huge role in what came next, when punk's energetic D.I.Y. ethos began to diversify, cross genres and sprawl like the vast city itself. One of the groups that sprouted in that time was the seminal punk band X. Three years ago, X's singer and bassist John Doe and music publisher Tom DeSavia pulled together first-hand accounts of the nascent scene from members of LA's tight-knit punk community. The resulting book, Under The Big Black Sun , was nominated for a Grammy.