What We Do Is Secret

We finally got to see the Germs'
movie! The excitement (at least in our house) had been building all summer and we finally got to see it Friday night. What had been billed as a one-night-stand was expanded into a week-long engagement.
The film is definitely a labor of love--the director, Rodger Grossman had been working on this project for quite some time. He had the advice and assistance of the remaining Germs and the film is a pretty accurate snapshot of the (short) life and times of Darby Crash and The Germs.
The early Southern California punk scene has been a fascination of mine over the years, mainly because I got here too late. I date my arrival to December 1, 1980 (it was really Nov 22, but we moved into our rental Dec 1), so it was pretty much over by then. I was a little older, had a real job to attend to (i.e. no partying), and lived in Redondo Beach (far from Hollywood), plus I was really worried I would somehow get my ass kicked--so I pretty much had to live the punk lifestyle vicariously.
Dale, on the other hand, was there as part of the scene back in the day and did get to see The Germs perform. He said he was impressed with the film's attention to detail, especially in the live scenes--the impending chaos during the performances. The movie's audio quality really added to the sense of chaos--it was rather unnerving, until I heard someone else say they had the same feeling.
One thing I enjoy about living in the L.A. area is that for events such as this, there are LOTS OF OLD PEOPLE in attendance. I include myself in that group. I venture to guess that half the audience was over forty. Dale was alternately freaking out and reveling in being the "cool daddio" because his daughters (18&21) were there with us. We were reminiscing how one of the kids used to wear his old Germs t-shirt as her sleep-shirt.
After the film, we were treated to a Q&A by the cast -members and the original Germs. Dale (that wag) wanted to ask Pat Smear if he quit FooFighters so as not to be in THREE bands where the lead-man committed suicide. (I held him back on that one). It was cool to see the originals. Actually, there was a show the next night at the Echo (where I recently saw THE EARWIGS), with the original Germs plus Shane West as Darby.
From left to right--Shane, Don, Pat, Lorna, Michelle

There were things set up in the lobby. Here's a link to their MySpace.