Germs: The Incredible story of the unsung heros of Punk

Photo: The Germs Symbol  (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

 Germs is not a name that many associate with rock. 

There are many articles, films, books and TV shows about the antics of infamous bands that have hardwired themselves to self-destruct, be it Motley Crüe, Slipknot or The Sex Pistols.  But there are precious few about Germs. A band that didn't just push the envelope as tear it up and set it on fire. 

Theirs is a story like no other, of madness, quiet triumph and shocking downfall. 

They were one of the most insane, original and high-energy bands in rock music, the infamous rebels of the LA Punk Scene. Formed in 1976 by two friends, Jan Paul Beahm, (who became the band's front-man, Darby Crash) and Georg Ruthenberg,( who became the Rhythm Guitarist, Pat Smear) after they met at University High School, L.A, after both being expelled from almost every other school in the area for inciting student rebellions. They quickly became fast friends, despite admittedly different tastes in music, devising a plan to start a band. 

Crash and Smear met the bands bassist, Doom and her friend, (none other than Belinda Carlisle of the GoGo's, who also became the band's original drummer) after an escapade trying to break into Freddy Mercury's hotel room.  Smear recalls the incident vividly :'Queen was staying at the Beverly Hilton, and we were hanging around the pool, watching Freddie Mercury on his balcony. We met these two girls from the Valley, total twins, with matching poodle haircuts and those square, tan Datsun cars. We snuck into the room below Freddie's and Darby tried to climb the balcony to get into his room, but couldn't. They gave us a ride home, we didn't exchange numbers or anything, we thought we'd never see them again.'

After this bizarre meeting Crash and Smear put up an advert in their favourite haunt, Liquorice Pizza Records, looking for, as they put it, 'two untalented girls' to join their new punk band. Doom and Carlisle called up and the rest is history.

After going through a revolving door of drummers after Carlisle contracted glandular fever, and her replacement, Donna Rhia, left on mutual agreement after three gigs, they settled on Don Bolles after he came all the way from Phoenix, Arizona for an audition and learned his drum parts in just 5 minutes.  

Their first gig was so crazy that lead singer Crash ended up putting his Microphone in a jar of peanut butter and covering himself in red liquorice and the Bassist Doom wore her trousers back to front. To start with they couldn't even play their instruments. Doom survived early gigs by sliding her fingers up the Bass fretboard, whilst Bolles played a hypnotic beat on the drums. And this was just the beginning. As they developed their song writing and became familiar with their instruments there shows became rowdier and rowdier to the point of inciting riots. As Belinda said in a 1995 interview 'You could always count on a big drama at a Germs show, Darby was outrageous!' 

A spate of singles, live LP's, interviews and appearances followed including cameos in Cheech and Chong's 'Up in Smoke' soundtrack credits on the dark, infamous Al Pacino film 'Cruising' and most most notably being one of the subjects of Penelope Spheeris' riveting documentary The Decline of Western Civilization,' for which a private invite only gig was arranged on January 3rd, 1980, at Cherrywood Rehearsal Studios in Hollywood. Though these films did not have the opportunity to capture the Germs current drawing ability and genuine chaos that would generally result, it did give insight to Darby's personality, as well as a brief glimpse at the live furore of the band. And so as the news spread gradually the band began to develop a loyal fanbase. 

In addition, their influences also gradually developed, from Iggy Pop, David Bowie, The Ramones, The Runaways and the Sex Pistols to something darker, more antagonistic and sharper. And like all the punk bands of that era they developed their signature icon, that imposing blue circle, purported to be an artistic representation of their lead singer's blue iris and soon became an imposing force on the L.A. Punk Scene. 

This came to a head with 1979s' (GI), their first and only studio recording with that line-up, released under Bob Biggs' iconic Slash Records Label (seen by many to be the US equivalent of Rough Trade Records in the UK). It would later become a touchstone for many of America's alternative rock bands including, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Hole, and is a perfect example of the Germ's raw, DIY sound.  After all (GI), as Pitchfork says, 'is considered the first Hardcore rock album.' 

Their producer, The Runaway's Joan Jett, was apparently frequently passed out in the studio, but that didn't stop them delivering an album that sounds as aggressive and untamed as their live shows. Crash growls and screeches through the entire record like a rabid beast over Lorna Doom's gruff bass riffs, Smear's jittering rhythm guitar and Don Bolles' pounding, relentless drums. The entire record crackles with personality and irony. From opener What we do in Secret which channels Syd Vicious in its growling laconic vocals to stand-out track Manimal which thunders into its main chorus with an untamed sense of anarchy. At points it can be a difficult listen, but just like the best punk albums its pulls you back in every time you put it on.  

It didn't go anywhere the Billboard charts. But it didn't need to. In the eyes of Crash albums were just a way of him furthering his legacy. And boy was his a legacy like no other. He was a heady mix of emotions. Accounts of him range from being a committed, straight-talking tragic-genius to a self-destructive and controlling madman.  

Set against this backdrop of it became increasingly likely that Germs would collapse. And it did. 

First, Darby fired drummer Don Bolles and replaced him with his new friend Robbie Henley, later described in retrospective interviews by both Smear and Bolles, as 'Unskilled,' to put it mildly.

Finally, things came to a head when Darby left for England one summer with another new friend, a woman named Amber, who was becoming increasingly responsible for financing his expensive lifestyle, and left of the rest of Germs to try to practice with Henley. According to Smear it was 'impossible': 'we tried once...I showed him a basic beat and he couldn't even do that.' Lorna Doom called up the next day and quit, the others soon followed. 

When Crash returned from England to find his band no-longer together he opted to start a new project, 'The Darby Crash Band' with Pat Smear as his guitarist, Amber as his manager and some other members of his new entourage as backing musicians. They lasted for a few gigs and then quietly disbanded. 

And then came the infamous Reunion Show of 1980.  

By 1980 Darby was on a death wish. Pat Smear has recounted to many publications that Darby had revealed to him, prior to that fateful night, that his only goal was to get his money so he could buy enough heroin to overdose. Despite the insane set, including a storming rendition of Queen's 'Another One Bites the Dust,' a stunning tribute to the band that brought them all together and renewed hope from some of the other band members that the band may reform Darby was just didn't care anymore. His final words to the crowd that night summed up his mood: 'We did this show so you new people could see what it was like when we were around. You're not going to see it again.' 

It was four nights later that Darby Crash died at age 22 of a drug overdose, just one year after (GI) was released and with him went the last remnants of the L.A. Punk Scene. According to Spin, apocryphal lore has Crash attempting to write "Here lies Darby Crash" on the wall as he lay dying, but not finishing. In reality, he wrote a short note to his friend David "Bosco" Danford that stated, "My life, my leather, my love goes to Bosco".

In the aftermath, Pat Smear, spurred on by the collapse of Germs, continued his career in music and eventually became a founding member of Foo Fighters. Don Bolles became a drummer with bands including Ariel Pink, Celebrity Skin, 45 Grave, Nervous Gender and Pearl Jam. Lorna Doom, an icon in her own right, having inspired countless other young women and men to pick up the Bass Guitar, retreated from the world of music after Crash's death and returning only for a brief stint in the early 2000's with her former bandmates and the actor Shane West (who played Darby Crash in the 2007 biopic 'What We do in Secret') to play a few live shows before retreating back into legend. 

And so the Germs legacy quietly lives on, they were and will always be the unsung, insane heroes of Punk and testament to its founder's incredible legacy. 

With thanks to Pitchfork, Spin, and 'Watt and J on the Germs Tribute 'A Small Circle of Friends' for providing the research for this article.