Arts Brief: Malibu Darby

Punk’s not dead but Darby Crash is.

The late, great singer for infamous L.A. band The Germs is getting the posthumous Hollywood treatment, however, as What We Do Is Secret, a docudrama about Crash—who got plenty of his own screen time in The Decline of Western Civilization—and his band, is released this week.

It doesn’t stop there, though. The remaining members of the band—drummer Don Bolles, bassist Lorna Doom and guitarist and former Nirvana member Pat Smear—are hitting the road (stopping in New York at the Blender Theater on Friday, Aug. 8, the same night as the film’s premiere) with the film’s star, former ER heartthrob Shane West, on vocals.

“Playing together was something that was brought up as an idea on set,” West said from his Los Angeles home. “If I had embarrassed them, they might have moved on, but they keep enjoying it and it just feels right.”

Despite having previously palled around with pop star Mandy Moore, West claimed to have a firm grip on the punk scene—citing bands like The Screamers, X, The Weirdos and Catholic Discipline as influences.

“There’s always anger and a punk rock attitude in a lot of people, but I’ve always been, on and off, an angry kid,” said West. “It’s like, ‘Holy Crap, I love this music, I love these clothes, it won’t be a problem for me.’”

Fans will judge that at Friday’s show, though, as the aging ex-Germs (not including former drummer Belinda Carlisle) back West on songs like “No God,” “The Slave” and perennial favorite “Lexicon Devil.”

“I’m not trying to be Darby,” West said, eschewing the idea that concertgoers can expect a truly authentic experience. “I’m not screwed up on smack. I might be drunk, but I won’t pass out after two songs.”