Easily one of my top ten favorite bands of all time, The Flesh Eaters remain somewhat of an enigma. Existing on and off for over 30 years, you’d think that this notorious LA band would be a household name by now, but that’s sadly not the case. I remember being shocked when AFI frontman Davey Havok told me that he’d never heard them (check the interview with him in Gearhead #12, it’s in there) but then again, that’s why I’m doing this ongoing series: to hip you to the good stuff.
Forever fronted by Chris Desjardins (that’s Chris D. to you punk!) their early and most famous line-up included John Doe and D.J. Bonebrake of X, Dave Alvin and Bill Bateman of The Blasters, and Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. I really can’t imagine living in a world where this bands first four LP’s –No Questions Asked (1980) A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die (1981) Forever Came Today (1982) and A Hard Road To Follow (1983)– didn’t exist, because like a handful of other bands that sprang up out of the same well (The Gun Club, the aforementioned X, and early Wall of Voodoo) they never get stale.
This video is for the song “The Wedding Dice” from the Forever Came Today LP, which features the later (and less punk rock star studded) line-up of Don Kirk on guitar, Robyn Jameson on bass and drummer Chris Wahl. Less star power yes, but no less great. When I think about this so-called kustom kulture world that we live in, it’s hard to deny the role that Chris D. and The Flesh Eaters played in getting us to here. From hot rods and Harley’s, to hair grease and flaming dice tattoos, these guys were living it before a lot of you were even a gleam in your daddy’s eye. Respect.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
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2 comments:
I'll gives you an 'a-men' on that one brother
You can catch up with Chris D.'s work as a writer on www.NewTexture.com. Keep an eye on our blog as well - www.NewTextureBlog.com - for news about his latest projects, including a soon-to-be published expanded collection of his lit work.
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