| Darby Crash | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jan Paul Beahm |
| Born | September 26 1958 |
| Died | December 7 1980 (aged 22) |
| Genre(s) | Punk |
| Occupation(s) | Frontman |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Associated acts |
The Germs |
Darby Crash (born Jan Paul Beahm) (A.K.A. Bobby Pyn) (September 26, 1958 – December 7, 1980)[1][2] was an American[3] punk rock musician who, along with long time friend Pat Smear, co-founded The Germs.
Contents |
Early life
Crash had a troubled childhood: The man he grew up believing to be his biological father left the family and his older brother died of a drug overdose. When in his teens, his sister revealed in an argument that his biological father was really a Swedish sailor named William Bjorklund. Crash attended IPS (Innovative Program School), a school within University High School in Los Angeles. The IPS program was a notoriously free-form academic program that combined elements of est and Scientology.[4] Before the Germs, he and Pat Smear called themselves "Sophistifuck and the Revlon Spam Queens," but had to shorten this name because they didn't have enough money to put the full name on a t-shirt.[5] After a short stint under the name Bobby Pyn, he changed his name to Darby Crash. The Germs became an important Los Angeles-area punk band, known for their chaotic live shows. The Germs soon dominated the L.A. punk scene. They can be seen in the 1981 film The Decline of Western Civilization, directed by Penelope Spheeris.
Later life and suicide
After Crash broke up the Germs, he moved to England briefly. In England, Crash became close friends with Adam Ant of Adam & the Ants and also found his way to the now popular hairstyle, "the Mohican" (Aka the Mohawk). Crash hated calling this hairstyle a "Mohawk" as labeling it degrading to the tribal hair of the Native Americans. He brought this style to the U.S. and upon his return formed the short-lived Darby Crash Band. Shortly after a celebrated live reunion with the Germs, Crash committed suicide with an intentional heroin overdose on December 7, 1980. Crash's death drew scant attention, as musician John Lennon (formerly of The Beatles) was murdered a day later. His legacy has carried on past the release of The Germs (MIA): The Complete Anthology in 1993. Darby Crash is interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Posthumous honors
A biography of Darby Crash, called Lexicon Devil after one of the Germs' songs, was published by Feral House and was written by Brendan Mullen, a club booker/ promoter during the early years of punk rock in Los Angeles (ISBN 0-922915-70-9). The book plays a cameo of sorts in the Red Hot Chili Peppers' videos "By the Way" and "Universally Speaking." Lead singer Anthony Kiedis is seen holding, and later losing, a copy of the book in "By the Way," and an attempt is made to return the book to him in "Universally Speaking." Kiedis has stated he and the Peppers are fans of The Germs and Crash; bassist Flea has said the Germs wrote and performed the best punk rock songs of all time, and that Darby Crash is the best lyricist of all time[2]. Additionally, when choosing the license plate of a car in the music video for the song, Californication, Anthony Kiedis had it say "Germs." A movie based on his life is set to be released in 2007. Named after one of the Germs' songs, What We Do Is Secret stars Shane West as "ultra hard-living, bisexual punk rock legend Darby Crash".[6] In 2006, Matmos dedicated a song to Crash on their album The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast which features samples of screams from Drew Daniel as Don Bolles is extinguishing a cigarette on the inner side of Drew's left wrist. This mark is said to be a "Germs burn" if done by a member of the Germs band, such as Don Bolles, or from someone that has been previously burned by the same, such as Drew Daniel.[7]
References
- ^ State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.
- ^ State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.
- ^ Duralde, Alonso; Anne Stockwell (2002-07-09). Biographies - Wild reads: waves, winds, and a good book you can take while you bake—isn't that what summer's all about?. The Advocate.
- ^ Mullen. "Annihilation Man; How Darby Crash lost control. Of the Germs. Of Circle One. Everything", LA Weekly, December 27, 2000. Retrieved on 2007-05-23.
- ^ http://mog.com/music/The_Germs
- ^ Davidson, Telly (2007-06-25). Westwood Goes Kabluey. FilmStew.
- ^ [1] Track notes for "The Rose Has Teeth In the Mouth of a Beast"
