Stevie Chick lives in North London, and has been writing about music for over a decade, contributing to titles like MOJO, The Guardian, NME, The Times, The Quietus, Kerrang!, Melody Maker, Sleaze Nation and Plan B, and editing the zine Loose Lips Sink Ships. He is also the author of Psychic Confusion: The Sonic Youth Story (Omnibus) and Ninja Tune: 20 Years Of Beats And Pieces (Black Dog). He is a keen amateur bread-baker, prefers cats over dogs, and cannot decide when asked to name his favorite Black Flag frontman.
Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag
SKU: 9781604864182
Author: Stevie Chick
Publisher: PM Press
ISBN: 9781604864182
Published: 8/2011
Format: Paperback
Size: 6 x 9
Page count: 432
Subjects: Music-Punk
Praise
“Neither Greg Ginn nor Henry Rollins sat for interviews but their voices are included from earlier interviews, and more importantly Chuck Dukowski spoke to Chick—a first I believe. The story, laid out from the band’s earliest practices in 1976 to its end ten years later, makes a far more dramatic book than the usual shelf-fillers with their stretch to make the empty stories of various chart-toppers sound exciting and crucial and against the odds.” —Joe Carducci, formerly of SST Records
“Here is an exhaustive prequel to, followed by a more balanced re-telling of, Rollins’ Get in the Van journal, chronicling Flag’s emergence in suburban Hermosa Beach, far from the trendy Hollywood scene (Germs, X, etc.) and how their ultra-harsh, hi-speed riffage sparked moshpit violence—initially fun, but soon aggravated by jocks and riot police. Greg Ginn, their aloof guitarist/slave-driver/ideologue dominates in absentia. Gradually, he fires everyone but Rollins, yet, his pan-American shoestring SST empire is relentlessly inspirational. A gory, gobsmacking read.” —Andrew Perry, MOJO
“Chick’s analytical and in-depth biography of the progenitors of SoCal Hardcore builds up to a page-turning, scene-setting climax… Chick does a fine job of detailing the importance, influence and dedicated touring ethic of the band. Not to mention finally laying to rest the ludicrous but long-running Stalinesque punk rock opinion that of all Flag’s diverse career output, only the material before Rollins joined was of any value.” —Alex Burrows, Classic Rock
“Chick’s well-researched and readable book immerses the reader in Black Flag’s world, recreating the violent yet creative atmosphere of the early Hardcore scene through new interviews with the band and their peers.”—Mat Croft, Record Collector
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Reviews
- You Can’t Annihilate This Band: Black Flag’s Legacy and Lore in Spray Paint the Walls
- Spray Paint the Walls: A Political Media Review
- Spray Paint the Walls in Razorcake
- Spray Paint the Walls in Booklist
- Barred for Life & Spray Paint the Walls: A Review on The Arts Fuse
- #VansBooksClub – Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag de Stevie Chick