09/01/2026
Just got in the mail, "My War on Wilshire" a little hardcover photo book from Bazillion Points. This was a surreal sunny day, July 4th 1983, when punk and hippie politics mixed it up. Similar to the Easter Front in Berkeley a couple years earlier, this was a rare outdoor daytime concert. What made it even more bizarre was that it was billed as a "Smoke In" rally in front of the Federal Building, home to the FBI/IRS. This was long before ma*****na was legalized and events like these led to its eventual incorporation into mainstream culture. My band Peace Co**se was invited to open the days festivities, followed by the 100th Monkey, Bad Actor, Wurm and Black Flag. In between bands, there were people speaking out for decriminalization of the evil w**d. Of course most of the book focuses on the tres-photogenic Henry Rollins but I was glad to see they used my flyer and printed my two-cents worth on the day. I was a little disappointed there were no photos of Peace Co**se or 100th Monkey from that day. My friend Stephen Jay Morris was that band's singer and one of the main organizers of the event. I have seen photos of Steve singing "Rise Above" with Henry. After all, if it weren't for Steve, Black Flag wouldn't have been invited to play. He made the phone call. Oh well, it's still a cool time capsule.
