Friday Flashback - X

X is a punk band (originally) that formed in 1977 in Los Angeles and were part of a music scene that included fellow punk groups like Black Flag, The Zeros, The Germs, The Weirdos, The Dickies, The Bags and The Go-Gos as well as other bands such as The Blasters and Los Lobos. Their sound gradually changed as they brought more influences, especially country into the mix.



Classic Lineup:
John Doe vocals/bass
Exene Cervenka vocals
Billy Zoom guitar
DJ Bonebrake drums

The band never reached much mainstream success and in 1986 Zoom left the band. He was replaced Dave Alvin (of The Blasters) initially and then Tony Gilkyson (of Lone Justice) joined as well and the sound matured more naturally towards roots rock. Before long though Alvin left the group and the band went into hiatus in 1988.



They reformed the classic lineup in 1993 but in 1997 again decided to go into hiatus after failing to make a large impact with their new album and the following anthology. Since then the band periodically gets back together to tour again. Of interest is the country side band that Doe, Cervenka and Bonebrake did with Dave Alvin called The Knitters and the fact that Doe has had quite a successful acting career. Some of the movies that he has been in are Great Balls Of Fire, Roadside Prophets, Georgia, Wyatt Earp and Roadhouse.

It took some doing but I finally found this version of the song "4th Of July" that is a bit slower than the album version and is by far my favorite. It was written by Dave Alvin and he has also recorded solo versions of the song as well.



I strongly advise you to seek out their entire catalog and watch this band grow over time. It's a crime that they never made to be more well known than they are now so if you get the chance go see them play live before they decide to call it quits for good.