The Germs were before my time, but they still had a major impact on my life. I never got the chance to see them live, so I only had my dreams about how rad one of their gigs would have been. I enjoyed seeing 45 Grave many times, a band who had Pat Smear on guitar and Don Bolles on drums. And if I had to pick one image of Darby that stuck in my head, it would be him on the cover of SLASH. In my mind, this photo represented the changing of the guard from the art-driven scene in Hollywood to the hardcore Huntington Beach sound. When I think about The GERMS, I just remember being 13, listening to GI, and thinking to myself, damn, this band is gnarly! Lyrically, Darby was able to connect not only with his generation, but with those that would come to hear The Germs in later generations. They might have not have been the best musicians, but they had a killer vibe. The GERMS changed the Los Angeles punk scene and left their sleazy footprint on our weird hearts…Now check out some sick footage of The Germs killing shit live!
