The Widow Babies interview

Well Nurtured Minor Players

In the early 1980s Los Angeles was the centre of a ferocious musical revolution. Bands such as The Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, The Germs, Black Flag and Bad Brains shook the foundations of popular music, storming the scene with a new style of hardcore punk music that attacked the political aspirations of post-Vietnam America and refused to conform to the new world order. They then went global, sharing their ideology and anti-conformist ideas, inspiring youth movements and punk bands across the world.

Now, for the first time since the early ’80s, the international music community is again being drawn to Los Angeles. Punk rock is having a revival, led by a swell of bands based around cult LA venue The Smell, owned by local legend Jim Smith. No Age, The Mae Shi, Mika Miko and HEALTH are among the bands leading punk rock’s timely revival, all touring extensively, gaining publication credits and inspiring young bands throughout the world. Proof of the revival can be witnessed on the pages of LA magazine Maximum RocknRoll, started in 1977 by LA’s original punks. For the first time ever, the magazine nicknamed ‘The Punk Rock Bible’ has featured an all-girl band on its cover; the band was Mika Miko.