The Germs were an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1976 to 1980. The band's "classic" lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom and drummer Don Bolles. They released only one album, 1979's (GI), produced by Joan Jett, and were featured in Penelope Spheeris' seminal documentary film The Decline of Western Civilization, which chronicled the Los Angeles punk movement. The Germs disbanded following Crash's suicide in 1980. Their music was influential to many later rock acts, and Smear went on to achieve greater fame performing with Nirvana and Foo Fighters.
Georg Albert Ruthenberg, better known by his stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs and for being a rhythm guitarist for grunge band Nirvana, which he joined as a touring guitarist in 1993, and Foo Fighters, with whom he has recorded six studio albums. After Nirvana disbanded following the suicide of its frontman Kurt Cobain, drummer Dave Grohl went on to become the frontman of rock band Foo Fighters, with Smear joining on guitar. He left Foo Fighters in 1997, before rejoining as a touring guitarist in 2005, and has been a full-time member since 2010.
Jan Paul Beahm was an American punk rock vocalist who, along with longtime friend Pat Smear, co-founded the punk rock band the Germs. He died by suicide by overdosing on heroin.
Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist.
The Whisky a Go Go is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boulevard, northwest corner. The club has been the host for musicians and bands including Taj Mahal, Otis Redding, Hugh Masekela, Alice Cooper, The Stooges, Parliament-Funkadelic, The Doors, Love, The Beach Boys, Cheap Trick, Golden Earring, No Doubt, System of a Down, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Chicago, Germs, Elton John, Oasis, Buffalo Springfield, Steppenwolf, Van Halen, Johnny Rivers, X, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, KISS, Guns N' Roses, Death, AC/DC, Linkin Park, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Stryper, and Phil Seymour.
The Decline of Western Civilization is a 1981 American documentary filmed through 1979 and 1980. The movie is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene and was directed by Penelope Spheeris. In 1981, the LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Gates wrote a letter demanding the film not be shown again in the city.
The Starwood was a popular nightclub and music venue in West Hollywood, California from early 1973 to 1981. Many punk bands and heavy metal bands started their careers playing at the club. The Starwood was located on the northwest corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Crescent Heights Blvd.
GI, stylized as (GI), is the only studio album by American punk rock band the Germs. Often considered the first full-length hardcore punk album, it was released in the United States in October 1979 on Slash Records with catalog number SR 103. The album was later released in Italy in 1982 by Expanded Music with the catalog EX 11. The album's title is an acronym for "Germs Incognito", an alternate name the band used to obtain bookings when their early reputation kept them out of Los Angeles-area clubs. After (GI)'s release, the band would only undertake one more recording session, for the soundtrack album to Al Pacino's 1980 film Cruising. On December 7, 1980, a year after the release of (GI), vocalist Darby Crash died by suicide.
Lexicon Devil is a three-song EP and the second release by American punk rock band the Germs. It was also the debut output of Slash Records, and of Geza X both as a producer and as a recording engineer. The record was named after its leadoff song.
"Universally Speaking" is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from their eighth studio album, By the Way (2002). It was the fifth and final single from the album and was released solely in Europe and Australia in mid-2003. The track was also included on their live album Red Hot Chili Peppers Live in Hyde Park and their Greatest Hits album.
What We Do Is Secret is a 2007 American biographical film about Darby Crash, singer of the late-1970s Los Angeles punk rock band the Germs. It was directed by Rodger Grossman, who wrote the screenplay based on a story he had written with Michelle Baer Ghaffari, a friend of Crash's and co-producer of the film. Shane West stars as Crash, while Rick Gonzalez, Bijou Phillips, and Noah Segan respectively portray Germs members Pat Smear, Lorna Doom, and Don Bolles. The film follows the formation and career of the Germs, focusing on Crash's mysterious "five-year plan", his homosexual relationship with Rob Henley, and his experimentation with heroin, culminating in his December 1980 suicide. It is titled after the first track on the Germs' 1979 album (GI).
Lorna Doom was an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for the punk rock band the Germs from 1976 to 1980, and again after they got back together from 2005 to 2009.
The Darby Crash Band was a music project started by Darby Crash and Pat Smear, founding members of Los Angeles punk rock band the Germs, formed after the Germs split in 1980. They recruited bassist David "Bosco" Danford and Circle Jerks drummer Lucky Lehrer and began playing shows in Los Angeles. The group's setlists would include a number of well-known songs from the Germs' archives, as well as newly written material. The band never recorded and played only a small number of shows before Crash's death on December 7, 1980.
Live at the Whisky a Go Go may refer to:
Celebrity Skin were a post-punk, glam influenced, hard rock band from Los Angeles, California. They were active from the mid-1980s till the early 1990s.
"Forming" is the debut single by American punk rock band the Germs. Released on What?, an independent start-up label, in July 1977, it is regarded as the first true Los Angeles punk record.
The Barb Wire Dolls are a grunge/punk rock band from Greece, based in the United States. They were championed by Lemmy on whose personal record label their third and fourth albums were released.
Jimmy Michael Giorsetti, also known by the moniker Don Bolles, is an American drummer who was involved in the 1970s and 1980s punk scene in Los Angeles, California, performing with Germs, Nervous Gender, 45 Grave and Celebrity Skin. Prior to relocating to LA in February 1978, Bolles had played in several Phoenix punk bands, including Heavy Metal Frogs, Krazy Homicide, Liars and the Exterminators.
