Punk Rock and Picasso: Q & A With Billy Zoom

X’s 13 x 31 tour in Portland, Seattle, and Cleveland

Intro by Ladycakes
Questions by Christian Lipski
Seattle photos by Gully Foyle, Cleveland photos by Julie Finley

Photo © Gully Foyle

Every so often my 15-year-old daughter validates me by getting overwhelmingly excited about something that was part of my youth: her undying love for all things X makes my heart swell. I had low expectations and was fully prepared to be underwhelmed by a stage full of old farts, but I’m happy to say that I was wrong wrong wrong.

The crowd was mostly a happy mixture of ancient punk rockers and middle aged suburban minivan drivers reliving their youth. My kid and her friends were by far the youngest people there, and they were furiously texting me reports of the sexiness of the band from the front of the stage. Maybe I should be disturbed, but I think it’s pretty damn hot that these four can still tingle the loins of teenagers.

They sounded brilliant in that weird punk/rockabilly/country/ethereal thing they have that always makes me swoon a bit and remember a Los Angeles that no longer exists. There is something about their music that captures the former glimmering brokedown beauty of southern California before it turned into a series of strip malls and tract housing. It reminds me of being a kid.

Me and my kid left the show feeling exhilarated after watching these pros at work. They managed to pull off two encores and still got us out the door by 11:00 without making anyone feel like they were deprived. We’re crossing our fingers that this isn’t the last we’ll see of them.

Exene Cervenka
Photo © Julie Finley

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Our Q & A with Billy Zoom

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