Greetings From The Compound:

I've been meaning to post this for quite a while and since there is nothing good in the way of things to do this morning, theres no time like the present. Probably the biggest influence on my song writing and playing are three people, all in the same band: Billy Zoom, John Doe and Exene from X.

When No Alternative first start playing, I got caught up in the whole "politics of punk" and found myself writing about issues that were of a political nature only. I had no experience with the idea of blending poetry with music (I was too much of hippy hater in those days and I was too stupid to realize that poetry was not the exclusive realm of the flower children, whom I'm still not fond of). I was fast approaching a brick wall intellectually speaking. Then we started opening up for X at a number of shows. Things suddenly changed for me. Billy Zoom turned me on to the whole Rockabilly thing. I found a parallel world in which two distinctly different styles of music were not really that different from each other.

The way Billy was able to combine the two styles amazed me and would lay the ground work for other bands I formed such as the Swinging Possums and The Watchmen. Hell, I even play a Gretsch Rock Jet today because it captures that sound.

As for lyrical content, John and Exene demonstrated in their writing that conventional rules could be broken and subject matter could be found anywhere.

I would have to say that X completely changed the way in which I did everything musicaly. I stopped playing punk for a while and took up Delta Blues/Slide. It was great to try something different that I had to teach myself in the same way I taught my self to play guitar. Still the blues really is original punk (Leadbelly's best work was recorded in a prison). I started playing punk again only because for me, it's where it all began.

I also would credit the Gun Club as an influence as far as writing goes. They were another band who changed the way in which the rest of us write our songs.

So a world of advice for you youngsters writing songs and playing in bands: Don't assmue the "scene" you're involved in is the be all and end all place in which to find influence. There's a whole world of other places to find that "something" that makes the best bands different. Stretch beyond your comfort zone and grow intellectually.

J. Genocide