In April of 1977, the Orpheum Theater had a show which featured
The Germs, The Zeros, and The Weirdos. I was going out with
Nicky Beat at the time, so he invited me to go hear him play drums
with The Weirdos. I remember walking up to the venue and seeing
The Germs outside warming up for their set by smearing food
substances (whipped cream and peanut butter?) all over
themselves. I went up and talked to them. They were very friendly
and giddy.
The Germs opened the show. They played horribly, but were funny
and very interesting to watch. The Zeros played a rocking set, but
it was The Weirdos who brought down the house. When they were
done playing, people were screaming for more. Some of the people
started holding up three fingers to make a "W" and the audience
chanted "Weirdos, Weirdos..." holding our W's up high.
The Weirdos looked and sounded like nothing I'd ever seen before.
That's why it pisses me off when people claim that the LA punk
scene was derivative of the English scene. New York punk came
first and it was those bands that influenced the early LA punks. The
Germs may have shown an Iggy Pop influence, and the Zeros may
have been influenced by The Ramones, but the Weirdos were
surely influenced by their own twisted lunacy and their art school
backgrounds. The Weirdos were the most original band I'd ever
seen, and they remain my favorite rock band.
The Germs, The Zeros, and The Weirdos. I was going out with
Nicky Beat at the time, so he invited me to go hear him play drums
with The Weirdos. I remember walking up to the venue and seeing
The Germs outside warming up for their set by smearing food
substances (whipped cream and peanut butter?) all over
themselves. I went up and talked to them. They were very friendly
and giddy.
The Germs opened the show. They played horribly, but were funny
and very interesting to watch. The Zeros played a rocking set, but
it was The Weirdos who brought down the house. When they were
done playing, people were screaming for more. Some of the people
started holding up three fingers to make a "W" and the audience
chanted "Weirdos, Weirdos..." holding our W's up high.
The Weirdos looked and sounded like nothing I'd ever seen before.
That's why it pisses me off when people claim that the LA punk
scene was derivative of the English scene. New York punk came
first and it was those bands that influenced the early LA punks. The
Germs may have shown an Iggy Pop influence, and the Zeros may
have been influenced by The Ramones, but the Weirdos were
surely influenced by their own twisted lunacy and their art school
backgrounds. The Weirdos were the most original band I'd ever
seen, and they remain my favorite rock band.
