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or legendary Los Angeles punk quar-
tet X, 2017 officially marked its 40th
anniversary together, with its entire
1977 lineup — bassist/vocalist John Doe,
vocalist Exene Cervenka, guitarist Billy
Zoom, and drummer D.J. Bonebrake —
Bateman) threw out the first pitch. Local
endorsements don’t come any classier.
“Singing 'The Star Spangled Banner' at
Dodger Stadium was so cool,” sighs Doe,
65, checking another career achievement
off his bucket list. “Although it was right
before they went to the World Series and
lost to the fucking Astros. But you feel
gratified by such acknowledgment, and
you at least hope that it helps other people,
you hope that it spreads, like a rising tide
lifts all boats or however that saying goes.
But look around — The Avengers is play-
ing more regularly, The Blasters and Los
Lobos are still out there doing their thing,
and you want these other people to be
noticed. I love that community, and I feel
really grateful after four decades to still be
a part of it.” In truth, the man might be too
X (L toR): John Doe, Exene Cervenka, DJ Bonebrake, Billy Zoom
12•2018
not only intact but thriving. The ensuing
festivities have spilled over into 2018, on a
current celebratory tour with Los Lobos
and Jane Wiedlin, but in some ways it
kicked off back in the summer of 2016,
with the group receiving the ultimate
honor its hometown could bestow – a per-
sonal invitation from the L.A. Dodgers
that it just could not refuse. So on August
17, John Doe – dressed in a blue Western
suit and turquoise bolo tie – stepped up to
the microphone at Dodger Stadium and
belted out a passionate pre-game rendition
of the national anthem, after which a
Dodger-jersey-draped Cervenka (flanked
by a similarly team-attired Zoom and
busy to notice. The part-time thespian
recently appeared in three new movies,
composed the soundtrack for another,
received A Grammy nomination for his
punk history book Under the Big Black
Sun,* oversaw the Grammy Museum’s
meticulous exhibit X – 40 Years of Punk in
Los Angeles, and – with Bateman — even
found time to back longtime chum Chris D
on his upcoming Flesh Eaters album, I
Used to Be Pretty. Plus, X’s 40th
Anniversary juggernaut has no end in
sight — they’re still rolling out every night
and playing like their lives depended on it.
IE: How’s your health? My mother passed
8 illinoisentertainer.com december 2018
away last year, leaving me an orphan, so
mortality has been on my mind. But you
look indestructible.
JD: With my parents, I was lucky – or
unlucky – because I got it out of the way
early. They both passed in ’90, ’91, right as
my first daughter was born and I put out
my first solo record. And death of your
parents? It’s a motherfucker. My brother’s
wife of some 40 years, she recently passed
away, and she had this long history of can-
cer, and it finally got her. But she was like
the closest thing I had to a sister. And I am
really glad that I quit smoking 18 years
ago.
IE: Well, your show’s are these insane aer-
obic workouts in themselves.
JD: I saw TV On The Radio down in
Austin a couple of weeks ago, and they are
so good. And that was the first time I’d
seen them because they don’t tour that
much anymore. And they were obviously
having a good time, and I just thought,
“Man! I’ve gotta jump around a lot more!”
So you can always do a little more. That’s
why we try to play with people who
inspire us, so we’ve got to pull our socks
up and get out there and show ‘em that
we’ve still got something.