M.J. Stevens

In the late 60’s, at age 13, I was already getting preoccupied with music and art. I found a copy of Indian War Whoop by the Holy Modal Rounders in the bargain bin of a tiny local record shop, and spent my allowance on it. Shortly thereafter I got a copy of Absolutely Free by The Mothers of Invention around the corner at the Sav-On Drug Store. I was developing a taste for wild music played by lunatics. This is where it all began. I lived in the East San Gabriel Valley, about 20 miles from Los Angeles.

In the early to mid-70’s things took a turn for the worse. As part of the rootless, disillusioned, post-Woodstock/Charles Manson generation I became a “born-again Christian”, part of the Jesus Movement. There was Christian Rock music, but mostly it sounded like watered-down Eagles. I satisfied my musical cravings listening to Black Gospel. I searched for wild music by sanctified lunatics, and that kept me happy for a while.

In the late 70’s I started getting exposed to music by Patti Smith, Television, The Talking Heads, and others. This was like a clarion-call: creativity and imagination were alive in the world, but I would have to walk away from Christianity to become part of it. And that’s what I did.

By the time we were into the early 80’s I had seen concerts by The Germs, The Screamers, The Plugz, The Zeros, Pere Ubu, The Fall, my old friends Television and The Talking Heads, Jazz artists Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, and Horace Tapscott, and many more. I also got to see Captain Beefheart a couple of times.

I never really became a fully bona-fide Punk Rocker. My interests were too broad to allow that. But I do have to credit Punk Rock and that early LA Punk scene for showing me a way out of the tedious and stale suburban Christian life. Thank you, Punk, for that.

I’m not sure what my first Punk gig was. But one of the first ones is worth noting. March 10, 1978. Arthur Lee, of the 60’s group Love, was making the first of several late 70’s comebacks. Radio station KROQ booked him into the Elk’s Hall by MacArthur Park, and the opening band was… The Germs! This sounds even more unbelievable today than it did at the time, but it’s true.  It was a great concert. The Germs and their audience went berserk- trash, bottles, and folding chairs went flying all over the place. It got written up in the LA Times, and I saved the article. They asked Arthur Lee what he thought about following The Germs, and he said “I never heard a punk-rock band until we played with one the other night. I don’t know anything about it. All I know is when I got up to play there were all these broken beer bottles all over the floor.”

I made sort of a fanzine in 1985 called Foothill Blvd. It was about art and music from where I lived- the East San Gabriel Valley and the Pomona area. Some Punk-related. There were only 24 copies printed. I worked on it for an entire year. It got a favorable write-up in Option magazine- mainly because I had a friend who wrote reviews for them. One person from Azusa ordered a copy, and one person from Hungary. But by then I had given away all the copies! Too bad!

I used to help Art Deleon with some of his shows at Art’s Building, first in Pomona, later in Eagle Rock. Today, in San Diego I helped Sam Lopez with some of his Stay Strange shows.

I allegedly appear with my friend Robert Jones in a scene that shows the audience in the movie Desolation Center, a documentary about the Mohave Exodus concert of 1983. However, I have never actually seen the movie so I don’t know for sure.

I worked 10 years at K Mart, 10 years in art supplies, and 30 years in the book business. Luckily (not because of any foresight- just dumb luck!) the last 20 were in a Union job. I retired at age 66 with a small pension and a social security check- just enough to cover the basics of survival. Thanks FDR! Now my time is my own- and I am still young and beautiful! I am learning to use my time wisely hoping to fulfill those same preoccupations that first struck me at age 13.

There is a recurring Spirit in humanity that keeps coming back time and time again so civilization does not become too stodgy. When it comes to your town, join up with it- and have fun, Real Fun!