RON REYES Interview! On Penelope Spheeris’s DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION PART 1, BLACK FLAG and the PIGGY Tour!

On the 3rd BAD VIBES Podcast, Vampire Bat, Marc Godfrey with the help of Dave Briker (Some Product/Platform) talk to Ron Reyes about the re-release of Penelope Spheeris‘s “The Decline of Western Civilization Part I “, Black Flag, The Early L.A. Punk Scene, The Piggy tour and try to make sense of 35 years of West Coast music history!

 The great rock n’ roll music documentary boom didn’t start until the noughties. It kicked off in 2000 with Julien Temple’s brilliant Sex Pistols film “The Filth And The Fury” and once the floodgates of nostalgia swung open, year after year, we’ve been inundated with a plethora of truly high quality music retrospectives! All this happened as music itself went into “decline”. So far, we’ve spent most of the new millennium looking backwards at what happened in the last century! Oddly before the start of the 2000’s, during rock n’ roll’s actual lifespan, it was slim pickings! Many unsuccessful attempts were made to represent music on the big screen. In the 50’s and 60’s rock n’ roll films were shoddy affairs, usually Juvenile delinquent B-Movies with a morality tale which you had to sit through before you got a glimpse of a Gene Vincent or Little Richard performance. Due to lack of foresight, directors often chose to make cheap exploitative cash-ins, that often trivialized or patronized their subject matter or completely failed to grasp the significance of the music they set about to exploit in the first place. Looking back, rock n’ roll films were often only “green lit” in order to earn a quick buck from a youth market that most movie executives couldn’t begin to comprehend. Movies like, “Rock N’ Roll High School” or “The Girl Can’t Help It” are redeemed only by the quality of the artist’s music that was featured in them. By the late 70’s, a tradition of “rocksploitation” was firmly entrenched, but every now and then a true classic would manage to slip through (Like Quadrophenia or A Hard Days Night). Rock n’ Roll tended to fare slightly better when film makers attempted to view their subjects through a documentary lens, The Beatles “Let It Be“, Dylan‘s “Don’t Look Back“, Scorsese‘s masterful “Last Waltz“, The Who‘s “Kids Are Alright“, the Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” and “Cocksucker Blues” were all low budget masterpieces that were made under rocksploitation criteria but ambitiously attempted to transcend the limitations of the genre. However compared to the documentaries that have come out over the last 15 years, all those classic films look aged and feel downright primitive! In my estimation, one of the greatest rock n’ roll films from that era ever made was, Penelope Spheeris‘s “The Decline of Western Civilization Part I “!

Ron hanging in the Church, Jealous Again EP, The Decline Trilogy

Released in 1981 The Decline of Western Civilization Part I was intended to be a Roger Corman quickie, It documented the birth of L.A.’s vibrant Punk Scene, and introduced an unsuspecting world to the singular talents of the Germs, X, Black Flag, FEAR and Circle Jerks­ and gave Reagan era audiences their first exposure to slam dancing and mosh pits! Punk Rock was still a folk devil at the time and the film did absolutely nothing to reassure conservative parents confused and concerned with this alarmingly nihilistic new fashion and music trend spreading amongst their children. Punk was the culmination of all the rebellious youth movements that had preceded it, deeply anti-authoritarian, truly dangerous and most frighteningly… uncontrollable! What the film captured was a youthful music and art scene that was on the rise and staunchly independent. A scene that had broken away with all the entertainment traditions that came before it. Right under the nose of the Hollywood entertainment system, kids managed to create a new incomprehensible subculture of their own.

The original soundtrack album on SLASH, Red Kross promo pic.

Riot on Sunset strip.

To add to the trepidation and hysteria felt by the older generation in regard to this oddly attired new subculture, the film’s premiere was a messy one. The LAPD dispatched 300 motorcycle cops, to control the hordes of Punks who turned up on Sunset Strip. After a near riot ensued, Daryl Gates, the city’s notoriously conservative, corrupt and racist police chief, wrote a letter demanding that the film never be shown in the city again! This was the start of a long violent turf war ,between the LAPD and Punk… unfortunately for Black Flag the venues the band played became the Cops favored battlefields. Looking back now, the film still stands out. It was a document of the last true Art for Art’s sake explosion to hit the music world. Interestingly, just 7 years later, in “The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2 – The Metal Years” it’s back to business as usual for the Hollywood Entertainment factory. All the power that the corporate music world had lost in 1980 had been regained. It’s evident in the contrast of attitudes between the bands and fans in the two movies. Everyone in the first film come across as enigmatic and heroic in comparison to the sad fame hungry sunset strip glam rockers in the second.

Eugene Tatu “I hang around by myself a lot.”

For years, “The Decline of Western Civilization Part I ” was a underground cult favorite. Just like any rapper can instantly give you 20 “Scarface” quotes, a true Punk (Who isn’t a Poser!) should have no difficulty rattling off a “Eugene” imitation or doing the Kickboy Face speech about “New Wave”. The Decline has stood the test of time as an important and influential moment in rock n’ roll cinema. One of it’s accidental “stars” was a young Ron Reyes. Ron was the second vocalist for Black Flag, he replaced Keith Morris who had just left to form the Circle Jerks. Black Flag and Circle Jerks marked a move in direction away from the Hollywood scene which carried more art school pretensions and had it’s roots in 70’s glam. The new “hardcore” was more of a suburban voice, and as the 80’s progressed they would be at the forefront of a scene that would slowly spread across North America and eventually break into the mainstream 10 long years after the Decline‘s release. NIRVANA was the band that finally broke “American” Punk. A telling testament to the influence of the original scene and movie, was when Kurt Cobain drafted  Pat Smear of the Germs into Nirvana as a second guitarist, once NIRVANA had become successful.

CRASH BANG CRUNCH POP poster, Decline Interview segment, Ange Trash!

Ron Reyes was in Black Flag at a very crucial stage of the bands history. Their inclusion in the film, featured a blistering performance and a tour of the bands legendary practice/party pad “the Church” and was essentially the first real exposure the band would receive. It raised the bands profile enough to allow them to tour. It was on one of those early jaunts up the west coast that Ron discovered Vancouver, Canada. Before leaving Black Flag, he contributed vocals to their classic Jealous Again EP and played drums on the Redd Kross debut. Ron continued with various projects based out of Vancouver, where he’s been an integral player in the cities indie scene since the 80’s. In 2011, Ron was again called upon to take part in a punk rock documentary, this time around in Susan Tabata‘s “Bloodied but Unbowed“, which looks at the early Vancouver scene.

Most recently, Ron took time off from his current project PIGGY to take part in the ill fated BLACK FLAG reunion. In 2013, Greg Ginn decided to take some recordings that he and Ron had been casually collaborating on and make a BLACK FLAG album out of them. Suddenly, the band was out on tour again supporting “What The…“. However, Ron found himself dragged into a messy situation as Greg Ginn battled it out with his estranged former band members also touring under the name FLAG. The whole confusing affair played out in the music media, and Ron dramatically exited the band while they were on tour in Australia. Back in Vancouver, with no more distractions coming from the SST crowd, Ron re-focused on PIGGY who have just debuted a video, compiled a limited edition CD and are currently on their first West Coast Tour!

PIGGY ON FACEBOOK!

Penelope Spheeris‘ “The Decline Of Western Civilization” deluxe box is out now! “The Decline Of Western Civilization” (1980), “The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years” (1988) and “The Decline Of Western Civilization Part III” (1998), a 40-page book containing an essay written by rock historian Domenic Priore (“Riot On Sunset Strip: Rock ‘N’ Roll’s Last Stand In Hollywood”), rare stills, and bonus features, including extended interviews, a commentary recorded by Dave Grohl.