THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 24, 1995 TAG: 9507220056
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUE SMALLWOOD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
THOUGH BEST known as pioneers of the Los Angeles hardcore punk explosion of the late 1970s, the members of X have never been shy about indulging their farflung musical interests.
Bassist/vocalist John Doe, vocalist Exene Cervenka, nimble drummer D.J. Bonebrake and a revolving roster of talented guitarists (including Billy Zoom, who played with local rock 'n' roll legend Gene Vincent, and Dave Alvin of the Blasters) consistently stunned their slamdancing fandom through the '80s with forays into rockabilly, country, blues, even heavy metal.
With their latest release, ``Unclogged,'' X has once again rolled out the unexpected. The disc is an acoustic collection of classics culled from the band's eight-album repertoire, recorded live last year at a church in San Francisco. They'll bring that sound to the Abyss in Virginia Beach on Tuesday.
The acoustic approach evolved naturally, Doe explained, an outgrowth of the players' participation in acoustic-punk shows organized by folk singer Phranc in the early '80s.
``We've played acoustic music for a long time and we're good at it,'' Doe said. ``One of my complaints with acoustic music, or at least the new craze of acoustic music, is that many of the songs aren't re-interpreted much. Not to say that they're not good - they can still be good songs - but I think you kind of have to see what happens when you do it a different way.''
Doe and company - including ex-Lone Justice guitarist Tony Gilkyson, an X member since 1988 - breathe exciting new resonance into their apparently ageless material. Doe's and Cervenka's harmonies attain a curious poignancy with the gentler arrangements given oldies like ``White Girl'' and ``True Love,'' while placidly paced renditions of originally raucous gems like ``Because I Do'' and ``Unheard Music,'' featuring eerie vibraphone work from Bonebrake, underscore the band's fine sense of mood and motion.
``I think people are amazed that they had the words wrong for that many years,'' Doe said wryly of reaction to ``Unclogged.'' ``They see a different focus. Some songs are kind of sadder, some songs are actually less grim. There's a swing thing, but of course D.J. Bonebrake is a master of swing; he's just a swinging kind of guy.''
The group, in conjunction with its management company, created its own record company, Infidelity Records, to release ``Unclogged.''
``We had talked to a few major labels and we just realized that they would promote it in the wrong way, they weren't going to get it to the right people,'' Doe said. ``We knew that we could do it ourselves. . . . We wanted to make those marketing decisions.
``And it does offer an option for other bands, other solo projects and possibly another X record. We're hoping to have enough material to start recording an electric record the beginning of next year.''
Meantime, Doe's second solo album, ``KissingSoHard,'' hits the streets in August and his latest film, ``Georgia,'' starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Mare Winningham, will hit theaters in the fall. Doe has appeared in many movies, including ``Slamdance'' and ``Great Balls Of Fire.''
An influential figure of the seminal West Coast punk movement (which also spawned the likes of Black Flag, Fear and the Germs), Doe remains decidedly unmoved by the current punk renaissance in popular music.
``I don't really consider it punk,'' he said of spiky-haired, platinum-selling, three-chord pop bands like Green Day. ``I think punk, like hippies or beatniks, in order to be that had to be surrounded by the social environment that led to it. To me it's more power pop or New Wave. I find it kind of sad that people have to regurgitate or revive something that really never went away.'' ILLUSTRATION: IN CONCERT
Who: X
When: 9 p.m. Tuesday
Where: The Abyss, 1065 19th St., Virginia Beach
Tickets: $9 advance
Call: 422-0748
by CNB