Germs (band)

Germs
The Germs in 1979 on a Flipside calendar. Clockwise from top left: Lorna Doom, Pat Smear, Darby Crash and Don Bolles.
The Germs in 1979 on a Flipside calendar. Clockwise from top left: Lorna Doom, Pat Smear, Darby Crash and Don Bolles.
Background information
Also known asSophistifuck and the Revlon Spam Queens, GI
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active
  • 1976–1980
  • 2005–2009
  • 2013
LabelsSlash Records
Past members

The Germs were an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1976 to 1980. The band's "classic" lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom and drummer Don Bolles. They released only one album, 1979's (GI), produced by Joan Jett, and were featured in Penelope Spheeris' seminal documentary film The Decline of Western Civilization, which chronicled the Los Angeles punk movement. The Germs disbanded following Crash's suicide in 1980. Their music was influential to many later rock acts, and Smear went on to achieve greater fame performing with Nirvana and Foo Fighters.

In 2005, actor Shane West was cast to play Crash in the biographical film What We Do Is Secret. He performed with Smear, Doom, and Bolles at the film's wrap party, and afterwards, the Germs reunited with West as their new frontman. This lineup of the band toured worldwide, which included performances at the 2006 and 2008 Warped Tours.