There are many characters in the story of the early days of Los Angeles punk rock that deserve to have their stories told but only one can claim the position of being in not one but two pivotal bands that shaped the direction the scene would soon take. Coming from a working class background in Hermosa Beach Keith Morris grew up around music and saw many of the biggest and influential bands of the 70's at legendary venues like the LA Forum and the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
Keith worked, played music and then went to see bands at night and earned a spot as a scene maker and was a familiar face both on and off stage. While he was completely undisciplined compared to his band mates Gregg Ginn and Chuck Dukowski, he managed to help Black Flag make an impact and when he left he further pushed the envelope with the Circle Jerks.
Keith's career had some major ups and some catastrophic downs. He sang, managed a couple of bands that ended up signing to major labels, appeared in two iconic films and suffered from a potentially deadly affliction. And he also did a spectacular amount of cocaine. But unlike many of his contemporaries Keith survived and that is part of the beauty of this book. Keith can relate stories about his friends like Darby Crash of the Germs and Jeffrey Lee Pierce of The Gun Club and that is good since they are no longer here. Keith lived in a pink house in Inglewood and Ol' Jeffrey Lee was his housemate. "Jeffrey Lee and I moved out and that was to avoid the commute and be closer to the action in Hollywood," says Keith, "The 'Pink House' still stands in all its run down, rusted and faded, and chipped paint glory!" Keith was there when Goldenvoice and Epitaph were small DYI outfits instead of the large corporate entities they are now. He got loaded, committed acts of fun vandalism with the Club Lingerie Christmas trees and was well liked by all. The stories he relates are essential.
It's also interesting to note Keith's genesis from hardcore pioneer to his experiments in the eclectic. BUG LAMP was a band started by Keith and RAMONES collaborator Daniel Ray. "With BUG LAMP I purposely tried to have two guitarists who were from opposite sides of the musical world," he explains, "Rob Sennet was my favorite of all the guitarists I've been associated with due to the fact that he cited Hendrix, Trower, Gibbons and Johnny Winter as influences. I've vocalized in front of some great players including Ginn and Daniel Ray but Sennet was my fave!" And although MIDGET HANDJOB boasted some of the most interesting musicians in LA, the offbeat tunage they created gave them the distinction of being one of the lowest selling releases on the Epitaph roster. "MIDGET HANDJOB was certainly dictated (sound wise) by all the guys and gal who participated. So many musical angles and influences." It only shows that, unlike some, Keith was no one-trick-pony.
It's a good-sized book but it's a quick read. Some people that were there will not be able to put it down not because Keith is a gossip or snitch or has scores to settle, its because he tells his story in a manner that a lot of people who were there can relate to. And he paints a beautiful picture of the early Los Angeles punk scene when it was at its absolute zenith with people of all colors, sexes and sexual orientations getting together and making interesting and different music for the folks who weren't around to enjoy its genesis. Hands down, it's one of the best books about the Los Angeles music scene.
