Lost photos show Black Flag’s history
The members of Panic, who would quickly become Black Flag, horsing around on Aviation Boulevard. Photo courtesy Ryan Richardson
Forty years ago, some dithering about the release of an EP from four kids in Hermosa Beach laid the foundation for alternative music.
The band behind the songs, Panic, had a short run before they eventually become Black Flag. A bit more of that brief history has come to light recently with the release of “Panic!” a book of photos documenting the band’s early days. The photos, all in black and white, depict band practices, mugging for the camera, and candid goofing around, all of it in the South Bay.
Ryan Richardson, the punk enthusiast behind the book, scrambled to get the book out to coincide with the 40th anniversary of “Nervous Breakdown,” their first record, and Black Flag’s first show, which took place Jan. 27, 1979 at the Moose Lodge in Redondo Beach. Richardson said that he was moved to put it out because it captures a critical period in the history of Black Flag. The band was set to release what would become “Nervous Breakdown” with Southern California label Bomp! Records. But Bomp! delayed, and Greg Ginn’s SST Records, which would become the most significant indie label of the 1980s, was born.
“For me, the real magic is they were ready to just have a record come out on Bomp. But when [Bomp! founder] Greg Shaw for whatever reason dropped the ball, It’s that juncture that to me is really magical. [Ginn] said, ‘I’ll just do it myself.’ And they thought, ‘Hey we can put out a record.’ ‘Hey, we can book our own tour.’ ‘Hey, we can do everything,’” Richardson said.
Adding to the sense of alternate history is that, more than 40 years later, the identity of the photographer remains a mystery. The photos were found in a file cabinet in the Burbank offices of Bomp!, which maintains an active mail order business.
Greg Shaw died in 2004, and his wife Suzy now runs the label. She said that the label maintains an extensive archive, and she makes a point of seeing that it is not forgotten. They recently donated “a truckload” of material to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“I want people to have access to this part of history. There are hugely historical things in this building. I know that, and I feel like it’s my job to make that available,” she said.
Before putting the book on the market, Richardson sought to track down the band members in the photos: Ginn, drummer Robo, bassist Chuck Dukowski, and singer Keith Morris. Morris said that he loves the photos. Many of them take place in and around what Morris described as a “soundproofed office space” at the intersection of Grant Avenue and Aviation Boulevard, where the band practiced. After jamming, the band spilled out into the street in a manner fitting of their attitude at the time, which was “absolutely nothing to do with any big business ultra corporate record labels.”
“Robo, Chuck, Greg and myself were just a bunch of guys making noise without any plans other than having a good time and creating some frenzy,” Morris said in an email.
It’s this spirit of frenzy that Richardson says attracted him to Black Flag and the many bands it influenced. He grew up in Texas and lives in Austin, but became fascinated with the California punk scene as a teenager. He said the photos epitomize the youthful joy at the heart of punk rock.
“All the acrimony, that came later. Here, you’re seeing them like each other, and having so much fun,” Richardson said.
More photos and information on purchasing a copy of “Panic!” are available at https://www.beforeblackflag.com/product/panic-deluxe-edition