John Doe (is that your real name?) was made in Los Angeles in Jan. or Feb. '77 after an exhausting trip from Baltimore on Halloween '76. He settles in Venice, CA. ('cause that's where the Beats lived), goes to the Venice poetry workshop and meets Exene. X band starts, record a single, gets more popular (1979 there was a line around the block @ the Whisky), signs to Slash Records and by 1981 the L.A. "punk rock explosion is all but over. X's first two records have poetry & hard rock; it connects w/ the audience's guts & brains and the critics really like it. X signs to Elektra ('cause The Doors & Phil Ochs did), make five more LPs, some videos, tour the US and Europe, appear on network TV, make a film (The Unheard Music), abuse body & soul, write about it, connect w/ more & more varied audiences and the critics move on to someone new.
By now (1988) JD has been in some films, taken some acting classes so as not to completely embarrass himself, signed to DGC as a solo artist, re-married and had a child.
Finding Los Angeles no longer inspiring, he moves "to the sticks", records Meet John Doe (while X takes an overdue vacation), tours the US again, makes more movies, adds another child to the same family, more documentation of relationships through songs and thinks about X playing again. Two records by X are released, last child born (same family), JD releases KISSINGSOHARD on Rhino, more writing w/ new intensity and acting serves as main expression/career. Frustrated by new label search, Kill Rock Stars comes to rescue and releases For the Rest of Us (1/98), touring & yet more songwriting.
JD auditions for "the sheriff" on WB show Roswell but gets to play the part of the lead girl's Dad. Doe and daughters work w/ Allison Anders & Kurt Voss on cool movie about the LA entertainment biz. called Sugar Town. JD is lucky enough to keep working w/ Dave Way (Macy Gray, Christina Aguillara), finish work on Freedom Is . . ., virtual release on net company EMusic.com, & get set to make "real" release on spinART in the U.S., and Twah! in Europe.
Live Line-up - The John DoeThing
John Doe - vocals, guitar
D.J. Bonebrake (X & Michael Penn) - drums
Drew Ross (Aimee Mann) - bass
Discographie (excerpt):
Adult Books/We're Desperate, X 1978, (single)
Los Angeles, X 1980
Wild Gift, X 1981
Under the Big Black Sun, X 1982
More Fun in the New World, X 1984
A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die, The Flesh Eaters 1984(?)
Ain't Love Grand, X 1985
Poor Little Critter on the Road The Knitters 1985
See How We Are, X 1987
Live at the Whisky a-go-go on the Fabulous Sunset Strip, X 1988
Meet John Doe, solo 1989 (out of print)
hey Zeus!, X 1993
KISSINGSOHARD, The John Doe Thing 1995
Unclogged, X 1995
For the Rest of Us, The John Doe Thing 1998
Freedom Is . . ., The John Doe Thing 2001 Twah!
Movies he´s been in (all those he'll cop to)
LUCKY 13 2000 Chris Wall, Dir.
WILDFLOWERS 2000 Melissa Painter, Dir.
SUGAR TOWN 1999 Allison Anders & Kurt Voss, Dir.
FORCES OF NATURE 1999 Bronwen Hughes, Dir.
CARRIE 2: THE RAGE 1999 Kat Shea, Dir.
DROWNING ON DRY LAND 1999 Carl Colpaert, Dir.
BROKEDOWN PALACE 1998 Jonathan Kaplan, Dir.
BOOGIE NIGHTS 1997 Paul Thomas Anderson, Dir.
TOUCH 1997 Paul Schrader, Dir.
THE LAST TIME I COMMITTED SUICIDE
1996 Stephen Kay, Dir.
VANISHING POINT 1996 Charlie Carner, Dir.
GEORGIA 1994 Ulu Grosbard, Dir.
PURE COUNTRY 1992 Chris Cain, Dir.
ROADSIDE PROPHETS 1990 Abbe Wool, Dir.
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE 1988 Jim McBride, Dir.
ROADHOUSE 1988 Rowdy Herrington, Dir.
SLAM DANCE 1987 Wayne Wang, Dir.
SALVADOR 1986 Oliver Stone, Dir.
BORDER RADIO 1985 Allison Anders, Kurt Voss, Dir.
X THE UNHEARD MUSIC 1984
W. T. Morgan, Dir. (documentary)
Television (the not so bad, the worse & the putrid)
MARTIAL LAW (yikes!)
THE STRIP (cancelled after maybe 6 episodes)
ROSWELL (pretty good for the boob tube)
VERONICA'S CLOSET (scientology)
PARTY OF FIVE (I must've been broke that month, cute teens)