John Doe and Billy Zoom keep things simple yet powerful with just two basses and one guitar, paired with 47 years of shared musical history as founding members of the iconic American band, X.
While there are many influential American rock bands, few have had as profound an impact on the global music scene as X. Alongside other punk pioneers of the 1977 Class, including Patti Smith, Richard Hell, and Talking Heads, the Los Angeles-based band demonstrated that rock ‘n’ roll could be stripped down to its core while maintaining the depth and literary quality of the finest songwriters who came before them. X’s first three albums—Los Angeles, Wild Gift, and Under the Big Black Sun—formed a provocative and powerful foundation, rocking with the force of Mt. Rushmore.
In 2024, X released their latest album, Smoke & Fiction, and, after announcing it would be their final project, set out on what was billed as a farewell tour, seemingly wrapping up 47 years of musical history. However, when PG caught up with X at Memphis’s Minglewood Hall in late fall, vocalist and bassist John Doe revealed a secret: they plan to keep playing select dates and occasional mini-tours, with a spot at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas on April 12.
What’s not a secret is that they still rock like Mt. Rushmore, and the work of all four founding members—bassist, vocalist, and songwriter John Doe; vocalist and songwriter Exene Cervenka; guitarist Billy Zoom; and drummer D.J. Bonebreak—remains as inspired as ever.
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