If you’ve ever seen hardcore troubadours Fucked Up live you undoubtedly have a pretty lucid impression of frontperson Damian Abraham as an imposing, half-naked presence belting out the lyrics to his band’s punk operas. But the new video series we’re running with Abraham displays another side of the vocalist and self-proclaimed “punk rock librarian”—one that won’t get him thrown out of the LA establishments he’s conducting interviews in with punk luminaries.
The first season of “Punk as Fuck with Damian Abraham” explores, in Abraham’s words, the “confluence of punk and anything,” pairing interviews with the likes of Steve Albini, X’s John Doe, and Moby with landmarks of LA cuisine and culture such as The Smell and Oki Dog. “A city like Los Angeles, which bubbles over with musical significance, is littered with the ghosts of punk’s past dwellings,” Abraham explains. “Today’s stores, corporate coffee chains, and parking lots cover up where once this vital art form of the youth and noise was voiced. Though mostly gone in brick and mortar form, the sonic reverberations and impact of the patron of said places are still being felt.”
Today we’re sharing the first episode of the series, which sees Abraham meeting up with legendary producer and Big Black/Shellac founder Steve Albini and Germs drummer Don Bolles at Albini’s favorite LA food spot: Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles. Watch the trio discuss Los Angeles’ contribution to the early punk scene over Sunrises and Coronas in the video below.
