X Hit and Run CNN Punk rock's revival continues. CNN gives a fair shake to one of the greatest L.A. punk bands ever as X releases their compilation CD:
(CNN) -- Those who were once punkers are now parents, and some may be embarrassed by the contrasts between their youthful, safety-pinned and slam-dancing selves and the responsible adults they've become.
Not John Doe of X. For him, telling his three children of his previous life as singer and bassist for one of the West Coast punk scene's leading bands is "a source of pride."
His kids -- three of them, ranging in age from 12 to 16 -- know his former bandmate (and ex-wife) as "Aunt Exene," and when they hear Green Day on the radio they can hear the echoes of their father's old group.
"It's a great thing," says Doe in a phone interview from his home in exurban Los Angeles, helping to promote a new best-of collection, "Make the Music Go Bang" (Elektra/Rhino).
And why not? X may not have enjoyed huge record sales during its '80s heyday, but the band's influence -- its eerie harmonies, rockabilly roots (guitarist Billy Zoom was a former Gene Vincent sideman) and propulsive, imagistic songs ("Johnny Hit and Run Pauline," "Blue Spark," "Los Angeles") has been wide-ranging, discernable in bands from the aforementioned Green Day to Wilco. They were considered a punk band, but had a more melodic sense than L.A. compatriots such as Black Flag.