Exene Cervenka and the Original Sinners w/ Knuckel Drager
Friday, April 6, 9 pm, High Noon Saloon
Exene Cervenka draws comparisons to two other punk goddesses who reigned supreme in the 1970's ' Patti Smith and Chrissy Hynde. Each was the queen of her own kingdom ' Smith in New York, Hynde in London and Cervenka in Los Angeles.
Cervenka was 20 years old when she moved from Florida to Los Angeles in 1976. L.A. punk history owes a debt of gratitude to the night in 1977 when Cervenka decided to attend a poetry workshop. There she met musician John Doe, and the two went on to form the legendary punk band, X.
Now 51, Cervenka isn't resting on her old punk-rock achievements. She continues to make music and art with a passion that belies her age. She exhibited her journals and mixed-media collages at the Santa Monica Museum of Art in 2005. Titled America the Beautiful, the exhibit was an 'on the road' depiction of Cervenka's many cross-country musical travels.
Since 2002, one of Cervenka's musical side projects has been the Original Sinners. The band features Cervenka's husband, Jason Edge, on guitar. The Sinners released a self-titled debut five years ago. In 2006, they released a follow-up, Sev7en.
That 2006 release featured an entirely new lineup accompanying Cervenka and Edge. The three newcomers ' Chris Powers on bass, guitarist Dan Sabella, and Kevin O'Conner on drums ' had previously worked as a St. Louis trio called the Seven Shot Screamers.
'These guys can play everything from rockabilly to glam, and the fact that they're so flexible and skilled has allowed me to work in a more free-form way,' says Cervenka.
One of the highlights of Sev7en is a cover of 'Ghost on the Highway,' originally written by Jeffrey Lee Pierce of the Gun Club, the late L.A. band. It shows that, on her new album, Cervenka has come full circle back to her Los Angeles roots.
Few people her age could dress 'punk' and look as graceful, but Cervenka's signature polka-dot dresses know no boundaries of age or time.
Opening the show will be Madison's own rockabilly, surfpunk band, Knuckel Drager, which has been touring with the Original Sinners for weeks.
