The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 8, 1986 - Page 7 Everything went Black By Beth Fertig and Julie Jurrjens An era has come to a close. As of mid-November, Black Flag- the most notorious representative of the American post punk movement- decided to call it quits, breaking up after a decade-long existence. Black Flag started it all back in October 1976, playing live gigs around L.A. as a trio featuring guitarist Greg Ginn. They and- others initiated the hardcore scene, the West coast's answer to the punk movement in England and the East coast. The band recorded their first singles in 1978 on Ginn's own SST Records, which subsequently grew to become one of the most important independent rock labels in America. In the years which followed, Black Flag released many, many, many records despite their many, many, many line-up changes. There were lots. But that's what the Flag did best - kept things shaken up. It was their mission. "I'd rather shake things up on a continuous basis," Ginn once said. The band evolved into its most influential shape with the coming of Henry Rollins - a grimacing, writhing, tattoo-covered, Perrier-swilling, lead singer whose commanding stage presence caused many critics to liken him to the late Jim Morrison. Their first record with Rollins, Damaged, sold a phenomenal 80,000 copies (an astounding figure for an indie rock record, especially in 1981) and, with their antagon - istic paranoia, effectively won over the youth of America. Junior-league skin-heads everywhere were soon invoking lines like "Give me your hand, I'll bite it off." With a sense of humor, of course. That's also what the Flag did best. For Black Flag, prolific was a ,way of life. Although their records have won rave reviews in pub - lications as diverse as SPIN and The. New York Times, many skeptics have felt that the band often sacrificed quality in the name of quantity, at times churning out -as many as three records or cassettes a year. But that's the way they did things, and if you don't like it, thank you very much. After all, they're not Elton John. Black Flag were never the world's biggest -capitalists, and money from record sales was more likely to be spent on endless touring than on Heather Locklear-types; and they were always big admirers of the Grateful Dead. That's SST for you, as well. "We don't ask our artists to kiss anyone's ass," Ginn told The Daily last year, adding, "If they want to, that's fine, too. We chose that way. It's not financially viable, not proven so, but maybe it's not because it's not real." Ginn and company's vehemently independent philosophy has good reason. A couple of years back, Black Flag had a run-in when the MCA subsidiary, Unicorn Records, con - tracted them, only to realize upon completing their first record that the company's president had thought they were "anti-parent." A dispute over their contract resulted in the loss of their name for this sole Unicorn release (but the four bar logo remained), and a costly legal battle to regain their independence. Meanwhile, SST continued to grow, and today they can claim paving the way for artists such as Husker Du (now on Warner Bros.), Meat Puppets, and the now-defunct Minutemen, who have since picked up the pieces and become Firehose. This year they contracted a host of additional bands, including New York's Sonic Youth. Still, the Flag continued to burn, tearing through America for seven months straight this year, nearing the end of their road in Ann Arbor's own Nectarine Ballroom. But the Flag schtick was getting old, older than some of their audience members. The band was moving on; Greg Ginn was spend - ing more and more time with his instrumental trio, Gone, and Henry Rollins was contemplating movie offers in between extensive spoken word tours. The group decided to disband shortly after their tenth anniversary. The ten year span of the Flag neatly corresponds with another anniversary - the ten years since the punk explosion. This leads one to question the supposedly nihil - istic, disposable element of that musical genre, and its subsequent outgrowths. The Flag must have stood for something else comparing their lifespan with that of many of their contemporaries. Maybe they just stood for committment - to independent music, to their and - ience, and to themselves. But who are we to say? Who knows what the Flag was, really? If you do happen to know the names of every member of Black Flag over the past ten years - and years in which they partook in the Flag experience (years, months, days, if possible), submit your list of personnel to the Michigan Daily's Arts office by 6:00 tonight. The person with the best approximations will win a fab prize. We really wish we could offer you a Henry Rollins coloring book, complete with tattoos; but all we've got is a $10 gift certificate to Schoolkids' Records. A defense against cancer can be cooked up in your kitchen. Call us. AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY 4 4 -U E Black Flag, the most notorious purveyors of the American post punk movements, have finally turned in the towel after ten ferocious years. Pictured above is the band's last incarnation: (left to right) Cel Reveulta, Greg Ginn (who survived longer than any other member), Anthony Martinez, and Henry Rollins. UM News in The Daily 764-0552 psst.. Like to be a Guide to the Stars? 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