Six-Pack: Exene Cervenka

You know Exene Cervenka for her work alongside John Doe in the legendary L.A. punk band X, but she’s contributed to a few other projects over the years where X didn’t mark the spot. (See what we did there?) Since today just happens to be her birthday, we thought we’d take some time to spotlight a six-pack’s worth of those projects.

1. The Plugz, “Mindless Contentment” (1978): These guys were peers of X on the L.A. punk scene, earning recognition for being among the first Latino punk bands. You may know them best for having been on the soundtrack to the film Repo Man.

2. The Flesh Eaters, “Pony Dress” (1979): Another staple of the L.A. punk rock scene, this band has always featured Chris Desjardins at its front, but the membership beyond Chris D has fluctuated considering, even including other members of X at various points, including Doe and D.J. Bonebrake.

3. The Knitters, “Someone Like You” (1985): To be fair, this barely even qualifies as being a non-X project, since Exene and Doe were both members of the group, but the music was far more country-oriented than the stuff X were doing at the time, which is why it seemed more like they were stepping out and doing something different.

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4. Auntie Christ, “Bad Trip” (1996): Ever wondered what it’d sound like if you crossed X and Rancid? Wonder no more! This one-album trio consisted of Cervenka, Bonebrake, and Matt Freeman of Rancid.

5. Old ‘97s, “Four Leaf Clover” (1997): Although they don’t usually feature a female singer in the midst, it’s easy to hear X’s influence in the sounds made by the guys from the Old ‘97s. As such, when Exene popped in to contribute vocals to this track, it sounded remarkably perfect.

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6. Dex Romweber Duo, “Lonesome Train” (2009): Those who’ve followed the Chapel Hill, North Carolina music scene – it really was a pretty big deal back in the ‘90s – will recall that Romweber was once part of the band Flat Duo Jets. Eventually, however, Dex and Chris “Crow” Smith went their separate ways, and Dex formed a duo with his sister, Sara. This is that duo…or trio on this track, if you count Exene’s vocal contributions.