Darby crash

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Germs (1979): Darby Crash lower right and large right in the picture
Graffito in Buenos Aires

Darby Crash (born September 26, 1958 in Los Angeles , † December 7, 1980 in Hollywood , California ; actually Jan Paul Beahm , previously Bobby Pyn ) was an American punk rock musician. In 1977 he co-founded the punk band Germs and was their front man and lead singer until shortly before his death. At the age of 22, Darby Crash committed suicide by overdosing on heroin . Today, not least because of his tragic end, he is considered an icon of the punk movement .

“I'm not going to save up for my old age because I'm not going to have an old age. If we run out of money, I can always kill myself. "

“I'm not going to save for my age because I won't have an age. If we run out of money, I can kill myself at any time. "

- Darby Crash (No Magazine 1979)

Life

Childhood and youth

Jan Paul Beahm, called Paul, grew up in Venice with his mother Faith (1922–2009) and three older siblings. While he never met his biological father, a Swedish sailor, his first stepfather left the family when Paul was a toddler. His second stepfather, the loving and caring Korean veteran Bob Baker, who is described as the only “stable male figure” in Paul's childhood, died of a heart attack in 1971 at the age of 39 . Just two years earlier, Paul's brother Bobby had died from a heroin overdose . The eccentric Faith, who got by in various low-wage jobs, encouraged her son to read and write. At ten, Paul won a local weekly typing contest, and Faith bought him a portable typewriter . From then on he devoted himself almost excessively to writing notes and poetry.

During his high school years Paul came into contact with the new religious Scientology movement through alternative learning methods and developed an interest in its founder L. Ron Hubbard . In addition to the texts of David Bowie , who was to remain his greatest musical idol, Friedrich Nietzsche , Aleister Crowley and Georges I. Gurdjieff were also among his readings. In addition, he dealt with Adolf Hitler and Oswald Spengler and confessed, deliberately provocative, as an admirer of Charles Manson . Above all, the authoritarian effect of certain personalities fascinated the student, who soon gathered a clique of outsiders around him. At his side was Georg Ruthenberg , with whom he shared a speed dealer in addition to his love for glam rock .

Germs (1977-1980)

Band logo of the Germs

In early 1977, the two high school dropouts promoted two more members for a band called Sophistifuck and the Revlon Spam Queens . Paul gave himself the name Bobby Pyn and Georg from then on called himself Pat Smear . Together with two girls, they started rehearsing in Pat's parents' garage and soon renamed themselves Germs . After first appearances in legendary scene clubs such as Whiskey a Go Go , the Germs soon acquired a reputation as noise makers . Bobby Pyn disturbed the audience by wrapping his upper body in liquorice string or rubbing himself with peanut butter .

With Lorna Doom on bass and Don Bolles on drums , the band advanced to one of the big things in the scene despite their inadequate playing skills. Paul appeared from 1978 under the pseudonym Darby Crash and had an ever larger following, which, based on the band logo, called Circle One . The initiation rite consisted of having a circle burned on your wrist with a cigarette - either by a member or by Darby Crash himself. The increasing hype about his person displeased his mother and so Darby moved to Hollywood in 1979 . The Germs (GI) debut album produced by Joan Jett did not bring any commercial success. Instead, violence and drug escapades increased at the concerts, with the result that the Germs were banned from all clubs in LA and the surrounding area in early summer 1980.

Darby, who suffered from increasing narcotics and alcohol consumption, traveled to London in the summer , which marked the end of the band. He returned after two months with a mohawk and face-painting in the style of Adam Ant and earned derisive comments from the scene for it. After unsuccessful attempts to gain a foothold with the Darby Crash Band , the Germs gave one last reunion concert on December 3, 1980 at Starwood.

death

Darby's grave in Culver City

On the night of December 7th, Darby and a friend named Casey Cola tried in vain to board a party in Bel Air . They drove to Chinatown and watched a band they were friends with. Then they bought heroin for $ 400 - Darby's takings from the last Germs concert - and went to Casey's childhood home. According to Cola, the two had a suicide pact . Legend has it that Darby spared Casey by injecting her with a smaller dose, which Casey Cola later denied. When she woke up the next morning, she was in the arms of the dead punk rocker.

Darby Crash had made no secret of his death plans during his final years. From 1977 onwards he is said to have spoken so often about a possible suicide that people around him no longer took him seriously. Germs manager Nicole Panter remembered the following statement from her protégé:

"I'm going to kill myself before I get old, I'm gonna do it at a time when it takes everybody by surprise, and I want a statue erected of me for people to go to."

“I'll kill myself before I get old. I will do it at a time that surprises everyone, and I want a statue of myself to be erected for people to make pilgrimages to. "

For example, on the night of her death, a desperate caller was ignored when she claimed that Darby wanted to take her own life. Darby's mother Faith, who had already lost her eldest son to a heroin overdose, however, did not believe in suicide and spoke of an "accident". Jan Paul Beahm aka Darby Crash was buried on a small scale in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City . His death was overshadowed by the murder of John Lennon just a day later and therefore received little media attention.

sexuality

After Darby's death, his sexual orientation became the focus of interest. Brendan Mullens and Don Bolles' Oral History Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs , published in 2002, paints a picture of Darby Crash as a misunderstood homosexual whose lifestyle was known only to his closest friends. In 1978 he is said to have fallen unhappily in love with a boy named Donnie Rose, in 1980 he threw Bolles out of the band and hired a friend, whom he secretly loved, as the new drummer. According to Casey Cola, his farewell letter contained the words "My life, my leather, my love goes to Bosco", a message to David "Bosco" Danford, bassist of the short-lived Darby Crash Band.

An interview scene in the 1981 documentary The Decline of Western Civilazation , which examines the LA punk scene, suggests the fear of an outing . Darby Crash is shown in 1980 in his apartment with high school girlfriend Michelle Baer, ​​his alleged roommate. In fact, Darby lived with Tony the Hustler, a punk and hustler , during the filming period . Darby refused to be in front of the camera with him, Tony later said.

Germs manager Nicole Panter admitted not knowing anything about Darby's homosexuality, but was not shocked to learn about it. Parts of the punk scene were extremely homophobic and Darby was afraid all his life that his true feelings could make him a victim, said Judith Bell, insider of the scene. In addition, he never presented himself as a sex symbol on stage like other front men.

reception

Darby Crash and the Germs already enjoyed a certain reputation during the singer's lifetime. His appearances, which he said he could not do without drugs, often got bizarre, his aggressive singing style paired with the darkly depressive lyrics was misunderstood as a call to violence. Even as Bobby Pyn, he made plenty of self-destructive appearances like those of Iggy Pop , whose self-inflicted wounds can be considered a mark of his authenticity . By mid-1980 at the latest, when the band was no longer allowed to appear in public in LA, Darby Crash and his friends were considered a "living legend". The musical influence on bands like Nirvana , Sonic Youth or the Red Hot Chili Peppers cannot be denied.

Darby Crash is described as intelligent and charismatic. His thoughtful, sometimes cryptic lyrics gave expression to his disturbing views. The fascination for the power of speech and rejection of US democracy made Darby receptive to authoritarianism , calling himself a " fascist " but not a Nazi . Above all, his interest in Scientology and the unconditional will to become famous made him strive for the role of cult leader, which he fulfilled in the beginning in Circle One . Tomata du Plenty, lead singer of the Screamers , provided one of the most apt descriptions of his fellow musician:

“I couldn't sit through a Germs' set, please. Torture! But I could certainly sit on the curb with a 40-ounce and listen to him for hours. He was an interesting, interesting person. "

“I couldn't listen to a set of the Germs, please don't. Torture! But I could certainly sit on the curb with a bottle of beer and listen to him for hours. He was a really interesting person. "

The poster / cover for the film documentary The Decline of Western Civilization , which also contains an interview from 1980 and a posed appearance by the Germs, provides a close-up of Darby lying on the stage . The band's story was filmed in 2007 with Shane West as Darby Crash and Rick Gonzalez as Pat Smear. The semi-documentary biopic What We Do Is Secret was directed by Rodger Grossman and received mixed reviews. The film title goes back to a song by the band. West played Darby Crash so convincingly that the surviving members of the Germs made a brief comeback with him as a singer.

Discography

literature

  • Brendan Mullen, Don Bolles & Adam Parfrey: Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs. Feral House, Port Townsend 2002, 296 pp. ISBN 978-0922915705 (English).
  • Peter Robert Brown: Strange Notes from the LA Punk Underground: The Durability of Darby Crash and the Germs. Canadian Review of American Studies 41, no. 2 (2011), pp. 199-222 (English).
  • Thorn Kief Hillsbery: What We Do Is Secret. Villard, New York 2005, 346 pp. ISBN 0-8129-7309-7 (English).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d e f g h i j k l Brendan Mullen: Annihilation Man. LA Weekly, December 27, 2000; accessed February 25, 2017 .
  2. SurfPunks TV documentary - Interview with Casey Cola on Darby Crash's suicide. VPRO , 1981, accessed March 1, 2017 .
  3. a b Brendan Mullen, Don Bolles & Adam Parfrey: Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs. Feral House, Port Townsend 2002, 296 pp. (English).
  4. a b c d e Peter Robert Brown: Strange Notes from the LA Punk Underground: The Durability of Darby Crash and the Germs. Canadian Review of American Studies 41, no. 2 (2011), pp. 199-222 (English).
  5. Darby Crash (1980) in The Decline of Western Civilization (documentary, USA 1981, director: Penelope Spheeris ) (English).
  6. Chris Campion: Strange Notes: The Story of Darby Crash and The Germs. Sabotage Times, January 20, 2011, accessed March 1, 2017 .
  7. ^ Greg Prato: Darby Crash - Biography. Allmusic , accessed on March 1, 2017 .
  8. ^ The death and afterlife of an LA punk. The Guardian , August 24, 2008, accessed March 1, 2017 .