I met “X” in 1979, when I worked at a store called Raconteur
on Santa Monica and Curson. I collected plaid shirts, Haus- Frau dresses and Chinese dinner jackets, all of which I sold at our store. I would also take some to Raconteur and then I would go and knock on Exene, John, and Billy Zoom's apartment across the street. All three lived in a one-room apartment.
Poet and songwriter, Exene and John, jumped head first into the early punk revolt Exene told me John asked to use her lyrics and poetry and she replied "I'll sing my lyrics along with you." "X" was born in the midst of Venice California's post-Jim Morrison poetry circle. Those were the days of coffee house merriment. Punks were writing, raging and reading Slash Magazine We was slamming, not moshing, playing records and cassettes not CD's and MP3's.
We were a s m a l l - c i r c l e, playing a new kind of music, and we knew it. I was booking New Wave Theatre, putting X, Black Flag, The Gears, Circle Jerks, a young Anthony and a younger Flea, on Night Flight nationwide on cable not long before the Decline of Western Civilization and before MTV. We changed music in a slow process that swallowed our youth and fed our dreams. Eventually, Ray Manzarek, played organ in the bands early days on their records. Ray produced many of "X's" early albums and attended their first gig at the Whisky. Exene's sister had been killed in a hit and run accident that night. I had met Exene's sister and interviewed her about her movie Ecstatic Stigmatic. She was a ray of light. They never found her murderer, may they burn in a living hell. Exene still had to play so she got drunk. The drunkenness of pain and truth touched everyone in the room. I know...I felt it.
The music of the time was mostly post-disco, just like today. A world of mindless dullards filled the charts. The undergrounders played at the Cathay De Grande, ate at the original Oki-Dog, hung out till the morning at the Zero, One Gallery and C.A.S.H
Don has been with "X" since their inception in 1978 when he met John Doe at the Masque. When Don was playing with "The EYES", "X" had a famous ad in Slash Magazine, 'WE NEED A GODDAMN DRUMMER!" I didn't see that ad, but he approached me, and drummers being whores in a way, they play with everyone, they're really flaky or they're really good and other variations!
He is a part time drum teacher full-time dad. I tell him a few and asked him to tell me his advice for drummers. Don said, " Take it seriously and practice a lot but there are practical things to do in music like meeting people and showing up on time and networking. There are a number of years where you just sit in your room and drum, there's a period when you start playing with people, and there's another period where you have to get out in the real world and make some phone calls or do business. You take it a step at a time. I would say be aware, don't shirk responsibility."
Don and I lunched at the Cat and Fiddle Restaurant. He tells me about his upcoming gigs with "X" and his ongoing independent music projects. He gives me a CD of "Orchestra Superstring", on Dionysus Records and is Don's smooth Latin jazzy dance operation. He plays, writes songs, arranges, charts … he's a musical percussionary superman! I asked him to spell the name of his other band, the "Syncopaters". He spells it out, crinkled brow, sounding it out, spelling bee style.
Tequila Mockingbird: "When did you get your first set of drums?"
Don Bonebrake: I got my first set when I was 15. I started playing officially when I was 12. That's when I started taking lessons. I hit things before that. I hit Frisbees and basketballs. I started out on drums, but that's to the unified school system. I joined the school orchestra and they would say this week you're going to play Tympani and I'd think wow, now I know 2 percussion instruments, I have to keep this thing in tune? Hello!!!
I also played in community orchestra's, like the Valley Youth Orchestra, Cal Arts Youth Orchestra and the North Hollywood High School Band and Orchestra. When you play in an orchestra, you have to play Mallets, Vibes, Marimbas and Xylophones, so I started taking lessons when I was 18. I took lessons from Earl Hatch for about a year.Then I became the resident Rock and Roll Vibes and Marimba player around town. I used to play with Geza X and the Flesheaters. I started playing jazz about 7 years ago.
TM: What kind of drums do you use?
DB:: Lately I've been using Mapex Drums.
TM: Can you spell that for me?
DB:: M-A-P-E-X that Mapex! I use Zildjian sticks and Zildjian cymbals. He spells it to me like a school cheerleader and I 'm laughing pretty hard by now.
TM: So tell me your Buddy Rich joke.
DB:: No, you tell me the one you heard.
TM: The one I heard Buddy Rich was on the Tonight show with Johnny Carson. He had just had some kind of surgery or whatever and Johnny sez, "Hey Buddy, you're not still smoking that stuff, are you?" And Buddy sez, "Yeah and it's getting expensive too!"
DB:: Buddy was back stage at the Tonight show and this drummer came up to him and said, "Oh Buddy, I think you're the greatest drummer ever, why don't you give me some drum tips" and Buddy said, " FUCK OFF!" After the show he came up to Buddy and asked him again. Buddy said, "Well, awright. Practice, Practice, Practice and FUCK OFF."
FINIS
Attention Bands, Managers and Publicists!
