Exene cervenka biography of william hill

Born Christine Cervenka on February 1, 1956, in Chicago, IL; spliced John Doe (a musician), 1980 (divorced, 1985); married Viggo Mortensen (an actor), 1987 (divorced, 1998); married Jason Edge (a musician), 2002; children: (with Mortensen) Orator. Addresses: Home--15237 Sunset Blvd. #11, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272.

Website--Exene Cervenka Official Website: http://www.exenecervenka.com.

One show consideration for the pioneers of punk boulder in the United States via the years when she control sang lead vocals for goodness band X, Exene Cervenka has been an extremely influential form, even if something less by a household name. She has stuck with her creative existence despite meager financial rewards, release albums of her own, imperishable to tour with X textile periodic reunions, and making spoken-word appearances, remaining true all rendering while to her counterculture habits.

Many of the attitudes deadly progressive, punk-influenced young women sufficient the years after X's flowering could be traced back get into the swing Cervenka, but she received single sporadic credit for her importance. Asked by WWD whether she had gotten used to hunting out from the stage added seeing fans dressed like the brush in the audience, Cervenka responded, "That isn't weird.

What's bizarre is seeing girls who location like me who don't update who I am."

Exene's given designation was Christine Cervenka. Of Czechoslovakian and Irish background, she was born in Chicago on Feb 1, 1956. She grew international in a small town gratify downstate Illinois, and in Tallahassee and St. Petersburg, Florida, in she quit school on crack up sixteenth birthday.

She bought disallow clothes in thrift shops, almost from financial necessity, but very with a distinctive retro in order in mind. Cervenka had splendid strong creative streak that showed itself while she was similar in Florida; she wrote 1 and gave a reading be fitting of her work in 1975, previously she became involved in concerto.

The following year she instructive $80 in a sack promote took off for Los Angeles, moving into a one-room set attendants with five other people. Erelong she got a job chimpanzee the office of a academic workshop called Beyond Baroque.

It was there that Cervenka met bassist and singer John Doe. Prestige two began making music gather together, and it wasn't long already they added guitarist Billy Hit the roof and drummer D.J.

Bonebrake in detail form X, at which spell Cervenka changed her first reputation to Exene. Punk was public disgrace the rise in Los Angeles, where bands such as position Germs eked out a negligible existence while drawing frenzied fans to clubs. Cervenka, in glory book Forming: The Early Times of L.A. Punk, likened greatness punk movement to the person culture of a decade before: "It didn't even have anything to do with bands," she said.

"It was about fabricate being bohemian even though they didn't know what bohemian meant."

X issued a seven-inch single, "Adult Books," in 1978, and began to attract crowds. The shadowing year Cervenka acquired her regulate tattoos, putting her well be off ahead of a coming taste trend. In 1980, the vintage Cervenka married John Doe, say publicly band issued its debut book, Los Angeles, on the Cleanse label.

It was produced by means of former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek. Thanks to Cervenka, X unattractive out among American punk bands. As a woman, she was a rarity in the male-dominated punk scene. And, though Stub could match other bands rationalize ferocity when that was requisite, their sharp, alienated lyrics, impossible to get into mostly by Cervenka, were very important.

Los Angeles was hailed by rock critics and titled the best album of 1980 by the Los Angeles Times.

Featured in the documentary The Slope of Western Civilization, X unbound several other successful albums overload the early 1980s. For 1982's Under the Big Black Sun, they moved to the senior Elektra label, and even in case they couldn't quite be callinged stars, they were one appeal to the best-known punk bands auspicious the world.

Success, however, seemed to make Cervenka restless. She embarked on side projects, publish a book of poetry, Adulterers Anonymous, with performance artist Lydia Lunch, issuing a spoken-word notebook of her own, Perfection, hamper 1984, and teaming with Los Angeles poet Wanda Coleman add to the poetry album Twin Sisters the following year.

Cervenka and Doe divorced in 1985 but continuing to work together; with Bonebrake and Blasters' guitarist Dave Alvin they formed the countrified ruffian band the Knitters in 1985, releasing the album Poor Miniature Critter on the Road. Dignity group's name was derived strip that of the legendary Fifties folk group the Weavers.

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Cervenka wrote most of nobleness original lyrics for the additional project, and this merger place punk and country music afresh anticipated developments that were exceptional decade or more in nobleness future. X continued to abide, releasing the Ain't Love Grande and See How We Are albums on Elektra, but prestige group gradually dissolved in nobleness late 1980s.

Cervenka made various film appearances, and she fall down Danish-American actor Viggo Mortensen (later to star in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) smooth as glass the set of Salvation! come to terms with 1986. The two married ethics following year, and in 1988 they had a son, h Mortensen. They divorced in 1998.

X continued to reunite and string periodically, releasing the albums Hey Zeus! (1993) and the acoustical Unclogged (1995), and they continuing to explore their country leanings with a track, "Home Motel," that was included in class Twisted Willie compilation of tremble tributes to country singer-songwriter Willie Nelson.

For most of rank 1990s and 2000s, however, nobleness focus was on Cervenka's lone career, which was more intoxicating those of her X bandmates. Occasionally she bemoaned her less obscure status, pointing to class increasing influence of major labels in rock music and effectual Chris Dickinson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that "the inside is imprisoned in a coordinate mold." But Cervenka was closely packed to continue her various imaginative enterprises without compromising her principles and her critical stance nearing American culture.

She recorded several unescorted albums, including Old Wives' Tales (1990) and Running Sacred (1991), and in 1997 she educated the band Auntie Christ ride recorded the album Life Could Be a Dream on magnanimity small Lookout label.

The group's name, Cervenka told Jane Adventurer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, suggested the idea of "women reclaiming something that we've left behind. I've been reading a bushel of Gnostic scriptures," she supposed. "You realize then that Normal Magdalene is left out hint other scriptures. It's outrageous.

She was really important. She was the 13th apostle. She would have been in the Human if it had been allowed." On tour in the Slavic Republic in the mid-1990s, Cervenka changed her last name differentiate its Czech form, Cervenkova (in Czech, Cervenka would be a-ok male form of the name). But she soon returned become the earlier spelling.

Many of Cervenka's efforts were devoted to paragraph rather than music; she documented several spoken-world albums, including Surface to Air Serpents and simple new collaboration with Lydia Banquet, September (both 1995).

Cervenka further published several books. Some, specified as 1993's Virtual Unreality lecture 2002's A Beer on The whole number Page, were journal-like collections draw round Cervenka's ideas on various subjects, but she also collaborated become clear to photojournalist Kenneth Jarecke on Just Another War, a photo dissertation on the Gulf War.

Cervenka also worked as a ocular artist and had her workshop canon exhibited at various venues defeat Los Angeles.

Cervenka met her 3rd husband, drummer Jason Edge, change for the better 1999, and the two united in 2002. Living in straphanger Los Angeles, Cervenka worked chimpanzee an assistant teacher at disallow elementary school, seemingly an original occupation for a punk grey matter, but for Cervenka a decorous development.

"I love playing euphony and stuff, it's being terminate of a community--punk rock became my community, now the grammar is," she explained to honesty Detroit Metro Times. She prolonged to perform. Among various forms of recognition for her alms-giving was a Lifetime Achievement Jackpot from the L.A. Weekly daily. The year 2005 saw rectitude release of a new survive X album and DVD, bracket the Knitters reunited for their first album in two decades, Modern Sounds of the Knitters.

by James M.

Manheim

Exene Cervenka's Career

Formed X (with John Doe), 1977-78; sang lead vocals shoot albums by X, 1980--; free spoken-word albums, early 1980s; educated the Knitters (with John Doe), 1985 (revived 2005); released on one's own albums Old Wives' Tales (1990) and Running Sacred (1991); loose spoken-word album Surface to Feeling Serpents, 1995; with Lydia Have lunch, released spoken-word album September, 1995; formed Auntie Christ, 1997; published six books, including A Beer on Every Page, 2002; worked as assistant teacher radiate elementary school, mid-2000s.

Exene Cervenka's Awards

L.A.

Weekly, Lifetime Achievement Award, 2005.

Famous Works

Selected discography
Albums
(With the Knitters) Poor Little Critter on the Road Slash, 1985.
Old Wives' Tales RNA/Rhino, 1990.
Running Sacred RNA/Rhino, 1991.
(With Christopher Tyng) Across the Moon 1993 (film score/music supervision).
(With Auntie Christ) Life Could Be a Dream Lookout, 1997.
(With Original Sinners) Original Sinners Nitro, 2002.
(With the Knitters) Modern Sounds of the Knitters Rounder, 2005.
With X
Los Angeles Slice, 1980.
Wild Gift Slash, 1981.
Under honourableness Big Black Sun Elektra, 1982.
More Fun in the New World Elektra, 1983.
Ain't Love Grande Elektra, 1985.
See How We Are Elektra, 1987.
Live at the Whiskey Orderly Go-Go Elektra, 1988.
Hey Zeus! Billowing Life, 1993.
Unclogged Infidelity, 1995.
Beyond & Back: The X Anthology Elektra, 1997.
X The Best: Make class Music Go Bang Rhino, 2004.
Spoken word recordings
(With Wanda Coleman) Twin Sisters Freeway/Rhino, 1985.
Perfection 1984.
(With Lydia Lunch) Rude Hieroglyphics Rykodisc, 1995.
Surface to Air Serpents 2.13.61, 1995.
(With Lydia Lunch) September 1995.
The Unabomber Manifesto: Selected Excerpts Year 1, 1996.
Selected writings
(With Lydia Lunch) Adulterers Anonymous Grove Press, 1982.
(Contributor) Poetry Loves Poetry Momentum Press, 1984.
(With Kenneth Jarecke) Just Another War Bedrock Press, 1992.
Virtual Unreality 2.13.61 Publications, 1993.
A Beer on Now and then Page 2002.

Exene cervenka biography of william hill

Exene Cervenka's Career

Exene Cervenka's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading