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Moriarty Hops In The Mosh Pit With WHAT WE DO IS SECRET, A Film About Darby Crash And The Germs!
Hey, everyone. “Moriarty” here.
I went through my punk phase back in high school. Used to go to shows at the Armory outside Tampa to see bands like the Circle Jerks or the Impotent Sea Snakes or Black Flag. I considered the REPO MAN soundtrack one of the essential artifacts of civilization, and I thought Penelope Spheeris was doing the Lord’s work with her documentary THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION. It’s a movie jampacked with memorable moments, and it really is an X-ray of the punk scene in Los Angeles at the end of the ‘70s. Black Flag, X, Fear, Catholic Discipline... they all made appearances, but one of the scenes that made a strong impression on me was the performance by The Germs, along with the interview footage with Darby Crash and the rest of the band. Everyone on the scene seemed wild, but Crash honestly seemed like he believed in anarchy, like a smart kid who had no larger goal as a performer than to spit in everyone’s face and laugh while doing it. Knowing how his story ended only made the footage in DECLINE that much more interesting.
The truth about the Germs was far more complicated than that short glimpse could have suggested, and I’m not surprised that it’s taken as long as it has for someone to actually figure out how to tell the story. Writer/director Rodger Grossman seems to have a genuine passion for the material, and his film does a very good job of evoking both time and place. WHAT WE DO IS SECRET isn’t just the story of the Germs... it’s an attempt by a filmmaker to recapture something lost, if only to understand what worth there was in it in the first place.
I would never make the argument that the Germs were a great band or an important band, but they certainly captured a mood that was percolating in the LA music scene at the time, and in a lot of ways, “Darby Crash” was the perfect product of the punk scene. He was clever but uneducated. Ambitious more than talented. He was smart enough to figure out how to get attention, but empty enough to not know what to do once he got that attention. One of the things that I like about the film is that it doesn’t make the case that they were a great band or great musicians.
Instead, it focuses on the personal. It traces the standard rise and fall of a band in much the same way that most music biopics do, but it works because the cast makes these kids feel real, and the sincerity of the thing gives you a rooting interest in whether or not they’re going to succeed. Darby Crash shows up in the film fully formed. He may have been born Jan Beahm, but he reinvented himself in such a way that he drew others into his orbit, including Pat Smear and Lorna Doom, who ended up co-founding a band they originally wanted to call Sophistifuck And The Revlon Spam Queens. By the time they branded themselves The Germs, they were already getting a reputation as the most dangerous live band in Los Angeles. Crash frequently cut or hurt himself onstage, and they were lucky if they actually finished a show without someone getting attacked or without something getting trashed. The movie seems well aware of why people went to see The Germs, and even the audiences at the gigs seem more interested in watching Darby cut himself than they are in anything being played.
Honestly, the film’s not great, but it’s got a sincere quality to the way it tells its oh-so-familiar tale of the rise and fall of a band in this cold cruel world, and that sincerity ultimately carried it for me. I haven’t seen Shane West in anything before this where he made even the slightest impression on me, but he does nice work inhabiting the overcompensatory swagger of Crash. Bijou Phillips, who certainly has the right background to understand the music scene, does some of her most affecting work to date as Lorna Doom. Rick Gonzalez is one of those guys you’ve probably seen in films like OLD SCHOOL, PULSE, WAR OF THE WORLDS, or PULSE, but you may not have made note of his name yet. I think he’s really good as Pat Smear, and he’s the real heart and soul of the film, the one person who seems able to reach the “real” Darby Crash.
Having seen THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION so many times, and in particular, the live performance by The Germs that Spheeris shot...
... I thought the way it was handled in the film was really sharp and interesting, and a great indication that Grossman’s got something going on as a director. His film is very low-budget, so he’s not able to afford tons and tons of period detail, but he still makes it feel right for the most part. He gets the dynamics right, the tensions in the venue, the friction between the band members. And he obviously knows LA very well, whether it’s the use of Oki-Dog as a major locale in the film or the holy-shit-fantastic work by J.P. Manoux as Rodney Bingenheimer.
I don’t think anyone’s going to see this film and suddenly have some dramatic about-face on the merits of punk or The Germs in particular, but it’s a solid, heartfelt picture, and it reminds me in some ways of last year’s CONTROL. That’s a more technically proficient film, but like that one, it’s the performances that carry the day. Darby Crash made the boneheaded mistake of making his biggest Rock Star Move (suicide by overdose) on the same day that John Lennon was shot, thereby relegating himself to footnote status until now. This film may be the tribute he had in mind in the first place, and I doubt anyone could have put one together that was more affectionate, so in that way, he’s finally been given the victory that timing and talent conspired to keep from him all these years.
WHAT WE DO IS SECRET is rolling out in limited release right now.
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
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Sep 01, 2008 1:19:07 AM CDT
I'm happy to see that you acknowledge that it isn't a very good
by kapowski
Cause it isn't. And I can happily continue respecting some of your reviews.
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This film will probably turn up locally one day.This write up reminds me of when I saw Suburbia on Channel 4 when I was a kid and thought "their punks were different over there",I remember enjoying the film at the time.Thanks for the memory jog,I'll have to try and see that one again.
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... I don't post the Script Girl stories. I don't get involved in her talkbacks. Frankly, at this point, I want as little to do with it as possible because it's not worth the headache. I have no idea why the talkback was shut down, but I'll ask the other editors.
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Sep 01, 2008 1:33:35 AM CDT
I guess everyone ate Bratwurst and got drunk.
by stereotypical evil archer
That's my guess D.Vader. I also want to know why that talkback was shutdown. I'm just curious and bored.
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Like a puzzled paaannnnthhaa! Darby! Pick up the mic! The mic!
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I saw this at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year and think it’s very good. I’d like to see it again, but haven’t found time. I liked it a bit more than Mori, but as much as I like Punk I don’t have a dyed in roots history with it like he does. Shane West is fantastic and powers the movie. I agree with what he said about the rest of the cast. The concert scenes capture chaos. As for The Germs themselves, it’s good rockin’ Punk that deserves attention. I think/hope the movie gets a decent-sized audience over time.
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never heard of them.
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suck that they shut down the tb, I liked your haikus, and did one myself, but it was shut as you know.
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typo
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...I've heard it doesn't delve too deep into the early L.A. punk scene, which is a shame, because the aesthetics and cultural impact of that scene were far more interesting than the music, but its still such an interesting, relatively unexplored (in the fictional retrospective sense) era in pop cutlure. I also think Bijou Phillips is a really interesting and attractive actress. Yeah, sue me. Maybe this guy can finally bring Flicker to the screen. I didn't like Control though. Even though it was made by an insider, it felt really, really inauthentic, like a total fashion spread with far too pretty actors, and I also think just as a story, removed from its real life grounding, it was very bland. I wish somene would nail Heavier Than Heaven, even though I enjoyed Last Days, Cobains last heroin fueled week is Requiem For A Dream style material for great cinematic madness.
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It was a shitty idea, and while it was all fun and games for a bit, it quickly became ugly and depressing and generally shitty and awkward for the editors and fans of the site. Its gone, and we can all be thankful and just leave it at that.
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With the exception of CONTROL and BIRD, they all pretty much suck. I'd far rather watch a documentary, though I doubt the GERMS, who's entire infamy was rooted in the fact that Darby Crash was such a talentless trainwreck, could fill 90 minutes, it could certainly fill an hour with padding and copious interviews.
I wish WALK HARD was a huge hit, because it pretty much said all there was to say about music bio pics, took them out behind the barn, and mercy killed them with a shotgun blast of hilarious satire / parody. -
yeah i was never a fan of darby or the germs. first wave hardcore was only important for the DIY attitude and what it later inspired. Outside of Minor threat, black flag, and a few others the music was fairly boring and worthless.
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I'd say that The Germs not only captured the mood in LA at the time, but that they pretty clearly defined it -- that West Coast punk nihilism that seemed so counter to what was going on in New York at the time and was also much more brutal and self-destructive than the even the punk scene in England. Important? Most definitely. That said, every clip and trailer I've seen for this film seems overly earnest and possessed of a glossy after-school-special sheen. It's as if the writer/director wants to neatly box someone as complicated and phenomenally fucked up as Darby Crash into an easily categorized and formulaic "rise and fall of a revered rocker" story. I'll see the film out of morbid curiosity, but this all seems so very surface, including the casting of pretty-boy Shane West, who may have the vocal inflections down but, in the snippets I've seen, lacks the poetic pathos so blatantly on display in Spheeris' superlative documentary. Crash was a bright and troubled soul, and I doubt a straightforward biopic can do him justice.
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Oh man, the Germs are great. Easily one of if not the best West Coast Punk band. I'm more of an East Coast guy, myself.
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I'm really more of a fan of the British stuff. But my favorite American Punk group has to be the Dead Kennedys.
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It's getting mediocre reviews, but The Germs have an interesting story. I heard that Pat Smear was involved with making the movie (I don't know how involved) so hopefully that means there's a certain level of authenticity.
Hopefully this film is different, but biopics are becoming rote formulas. Childhood tragedy + drug addiction + redemption = same old story. Darby Crash's unrepentant nature might set this film apart from the others. In my opinion the best biopic of the last several years was The Notorious Betty Page, which was criminally underrated. -
Dude, that was a crazy show. Chock full of skinheads who beat the crap out of the band. Then they came to Miami and they got the crap beat out of them by more skinheads! It was dangerous to go to a show in Florida back in the day!
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Hands down. They're story, particularly Jello's story, would make for a much better bio-pic, but preferably a documentary. Dude ran for mayor of California, was ruthlessly hounded by the US government for the infamous HR Giger painting he included in Frankenchrist, had has his leg broken by a bunch of racist neonazi skinheads, and is still going strong. Thats just off the top of my head. All Darby Crash did was scream, cut himself, and then die.
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Full frontal naked Gretchen Mol. Man, how I'd love to pound her hot box raw.
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I'd like to see a copious documentary on them, with lots of live footage. How this hasn't occurred yet, I have no idea.
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I like British punk from that era the best, though. Hate American punk vocalists (except Jello), and a lot of the hardcore punk from the 80s is really just noise.
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I thought Shane West was actually touring with the reunited Germs as their new lead singer. Is that still happening?
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Wow I didn't think anyone else had heard of them. At least because no one throws their name around like that. I remember seeing ISS in full drag glory singing an ode to felching while a woman wearing nothing but a chastity belt was being beaten on the crotch by an industrial sander sending sparks flying to the rapid beat. I smoked weed with those guys after the show and it was indeed good times, good times. In conclusion punk rock girls are way hot.
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I do realize that California is a state not a city. Ert!
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and What we Do Is secret is the subject matter.
Ian Curtis was an epilectic who had depression and who poured his heart out in his songs. Like Tony Wilson and New order say "we thought they were just lyrics".
Nobody expected what he did.
Derby Crash was about the statement.
I like Derby and love his story. The fact that John lennon died the same day he took his life in order to gain rock and roll god status is great irony.
Curtis didn't care about that shit he just didn't fit.
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Big Boys were the greatest American punk band... period.
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I disagree, there are many great American punk vocalists. Biafra, Danzig, and Rollins all come to mind. And that's all just first generation.
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There's a terrific concert film called Sonic Youth: Sleeping Nights Awake. Shot at one show a couple years ago, it has terrific concert footage and an intimate feel. Especially if you like Rather Ripped, check it out. Unfortunately it has no distributor and I happed to catch it as a single screening. :( The brutality of ShowBiz.
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darby crash? seriously? jesus christ allin is far more worthy of a biopic. he was somewhat talented and a hell of a lot more insane. do it hollywood!
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It ends with footage from the funeral. He was a total jackass, but what a hilariously deranged trainwreck to watch. I'm assuming its out on dvd by this point.
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the dead kennedys are not the greatest american hardcore punk band. and fugazi is a better post-punk band than sonic youth. now thats not to say that i dont love both of those bands. but to say that the dead kennedys are better than black flag, circle jerks, minor threat, and, MOST OF ALL the Bad Brains is a pretty lofty statement. i think it is too close of a call between these bands to say one is better.
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Sour Grapes anyone?
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Joey Ramone and Joan Jett are two of my favorite early US punk vocalists.
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At least in my opinion. And Sonic Youth is far, FAR better than Fugazi. Its not even a contest. Fugazi has one decent album, Sonic Youth has like 10 mind-scramblingly amazingly awesome albums and then like a couple dozen simply amazing ones. They do punk, jazz, noise, avant garde compositions, the works. Fugazi doesn't even come close. They're cool for what they do, but not very interesting to me. Its not even a contest.
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I know, lets play regular rock chords, only three, at a slightly faster pace than they were played in 1962. Yawn.
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Black Flag and the Misfits were about violence and dissafectedness. DK was all politics and Reagan-bashing. Apples and oranges. All were great.
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As much as West Coast outsider feeling and the brewing that was going on that produced an amazing movement. I liked the film. By the time DIY hit my rural town, The Germs were gone, but their effects were still felt.
And the direction was damn good. -
Never much cared for the Germs, although they had a HUGE (for the time) following out here. Damned shame so many from that time simply burned out or went nowhere...Some of those O.C. Punks had a lot to say, guess having life too easy makes for some issues. Best Bands from that era....Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and "X"..."X" was simply one powerful fucking band...Totally original, and their music was a vivid representation of Los Angeles, the city, at that time.
And ANYONE who thinks the RAMONES were boring or talentless is simply a poseur and has no understanding of Music history and their lofty place in it. -
Sonic youthhas like four good songs. I think we have different Ideas about what good punk really is. How many punk shows or bands have you been in?
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I've been going to shows since around 1986. Been in at least two dozen bands and/or projects ranging from straight ahead punk to avant-garde noise type projects. You?
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all that history and still your opinion sucks.
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about ten bands also including ska. theres no way i could count the shows. but what i was getting at is exactly what Noddy93 brought up
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youre an idiot if you think the ramones are boring.
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I'm not going to call you out on your dislike of the Ramones. It's a common complaint, I happen to disagree. You dig Sonic Youth, so obviously complexity is important to you. That's fine. Brass tacks: music taste is usually even more subjective than film taste. I prefer the simpler, catchier Ramones tunes. And frankly political punk doesn't do anything for me. I've never suffered the socio-political angst that engenders devotion to that particular sub-genre of punk. I'm not into Sonic Youth or The Pixies or any of those "experimental" punk bands, either. I don't listen to music to expand my politics or have my audio comprehension tested. But if that floats your boat, rock on! I'll take Jello warbling about consumerism over The Dixie Chicks killing Earl or DMX's money, cash, and hoes any day.
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I bet you write anarchy signs on your leather jacket your mom bought you for Christmas. SO PUNK! Let me guess, you were both introduced to punk through, whom? Rancid? Green Day? Offspring? Soooo PUNKY BREWSTER! Anarchy 4 Sale!
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Thats cool, man. Everybody is entitled to their opinion. Its nice to know that you expressed yours without calling me an idiot or that my opinion sucks. You know what, though, its not necessarily about complexity for me, more about technique and texture. Sonic Youth essentially created their own sound -- borrowing from the no wave "movement" and avant garde composers and slamming it together with punk, rock, and free jazz noise improv -- but its not like they're super flashy Hendrix style guitar wizards; most of the structures are relatively simple, but the way they play, and the tunings they use, make their stuff sound like its from another dimension or some bizarre dream state. I live for that kind of sound. I want to escape into it and drown into it and forget this wicked world.
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my punk is bad brains and black flag you fuckin clown. none of that blink 182 green day bull shit. clearly you should stick to your sonic youth or your "American Avant Noise Post-Punk" or whatever artsie shit you like and stay the fuck out of punk. i dont even own a leather jacket and anarchy punks annoy the shit outta me. enjoy your complexity and pretty sounds but dont pretend to that you are master of all punk.
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i can't stand the ramones, but i'd take fugazi over sonic youth (only slightly); but seriously, nation of ulysses is the band that mattered.
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ill take it. but im not letting people disrageard how groundbreaking the ramones were
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my first show was X in Houston in 1981... saw them the next night in Austin at Club Foot. I just love saying everyone's favorite band sucks and the ones they say suck are great. nice to know people take talkbacks so seriously
regardless, the Big Boys remain the greatest American punk band. Toxic Reasons might be a close second.
and for 'post-punk' I'll take Swans over Sonic Youth any day. -
those shows were probably sweet noddy
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and for the love of god, would you please start calling each other names instead of politely agreeing to disagree on musical taste?
this isn't Canada, for christ's sake. Let's get a bit of scatalogical homophopic invective happening, pronto! -
Passion's passion and I can't fault anyone for digging what they dig. I mean, I love me some Ramones, but I'm also a devoted slave of Tori Amos. And Jethro Tull. And Tool. So even though I ragged on the Dixie Chicks and DMX, they're fine. Shit, even Britney and N*SYNC and that pop shit has a place in the sound spectrum. Just not my cup of tea.
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