LOST CLASSICS: X

BILLY ZOOM RECOUNTS THE MAKING OF THE ICONIC L.A. PUNKS’ 1982 MAJOR-LABEL DEBUT, UNDER THE BIG BLACK SUN

- By Mark McStea

L.A. PUNK LEGENDS X made their major-label debut in 1982 with Under the Big Black Sun. The record, which followed two critically acclaimed indie releases - Los Angeles (1980) and Wild Gift (1981) spotlights a more refined and polished version of their sound while not losing an ounce of the urgency of the previous two albums.

As always, at the heart of the band's and the album's - sound was guitarist Billy Zoom's sparkling '55 Gretsch Silver Jet. Zoom's under-appreciated (and killer) chops are the lynchpin that ties together the left-of-center vocal stylings of Exene Cervenka and John Doe, not to mention D.J. Bonebrake's rock-solid drumming.

Below, Zoom discusses the making of Under the Big Black Sun and then gets into gear, the band's latest album and his AustinHealey Sprite.

Under the Big Black Sun sounds much better than the two previous albums. Why is that?

As I recall, the total Slash [indie label] recording budget for Wild Gift was $6,000, and Elektra's budget for Under the Big Black Sun was $60,000. We didn't have to rush through everything before we ran out of money and time. Black Sun was produced and recorded a little better than Wild Gift or More Fun, but those two were really bad. I've never been able to listen to them. Having said that, maybe it was just a fluke that it turned out better.

The songs are credited to John Doe and Exene Cervenka. Did you not have a lot of input?

D.J. and I contributed quite a bit on the music but not too much on the lyrics, if at all. We rehearsed a lot, worked songs out together, recorded them at rehearsal and then picked them apart and reassembled them, etc.  

I remember reading that X was basically your concept, a band that’d combine elements of Eddie Cochran and the Ramones. How hard was it to find other musicians who were on the same page?