GERMS - Cat's Clause LP

Label: Radiation

One of the most legendary and venerated of all Los Angeles hardcore punk bands. The roots of the group stemmed from the meeting of two minds at an alternative school in the late 1970s, when future vocalist Jan Paul Beahm, AKA Darby Crash, met guitarist George Ruthenberg, AKA Pat Smear. Spearheading the west coast hardcore scene, the band burst into public consciousness with an explosive performance at The Whisky in 1977 (introduced by future Go Go Belinda Carlisle), with Crash and Smear joined by bassist Lorna Doom and drummer Donna Bolles.

Crash's rambling, sneering and often sarcastic vocals were the perfect foil to Smear's superfast thrash-guitar licks, and was a dynamic frontman too, despite his volatile personality. The band's revered status and early innovation kept them on top of the LA punk scene heap, yet Crash ended up overdosing on heroin in December 1980, his death an apparent suicide.