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EVENT: Gary Leonard to take us deep into LA's punk music scene
Off-Ramp with John Rabe Hero Image
(
Dan Carino
)
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Mar 10, 2015
EVENT: Gary Leonard to take us deep into LA's punk music scene
Photographer Gary Leonard gives a free talk at the LA Public Library Saturday about the punk era, "punktuated" with archival and brand new photos of the musicians and the scene.
Photograph caption dated April 16, 1982 reads: "The Plugz are among a select group of bands that began in early punk days." According to the LA Public Library, the Plugz were one of the first L.A. punk bands, the first Latino punk band, and the first to start their own record label, Plugz Records. They're shown performing at a club in Hollywood.
Photograph caption dated April 16, 1982 reads: "The Plugz are among a select group of bands that began in early punk days." According to the LA Public Library, the Plugz were one of the first L.A. punk bands, the first Latino punk band, and the first to start their own record label, Plugz Records. They're shown performing at a club in Hollywood.
(
Gary Leonard/LAPL Herald-Examiner Collection
)

Photographer Gary Leonard gives a free talk at the LA Public Library Saturday about the punk era, "punktuated" with archival and brand new photos of the musicians and the scene.



"We were all extremely powerful (even if that meant a particular, sensitive stupidity that led to jail), we were all young or young at heart, we were all flirting with death and laughing at life."--Exene Cervenka

Given the extremes of LA's punk era, it's a miracle any of the icons -- like Exene, the Urinals, Mike Watt -- are left. But luckily, Gary Leonard was there with his camera, and he'll be giving a talk about that time Saturday at the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles.

(Phil Alvin and Exene Cervenka at MOCA in 2012. Credit: LAPL/Gary Leonard.) 

Gary, who runs Take My Picture Gary Leonard gallery in downtown LA, will be narrating images from the book Make The Music Go Bang!: The Early L.A. Punk Scene, edited by Don Snowden, featuring Gary's photos.  He'll also be showing some of his new photos of the musicians from the era.

And, it's free!

L.A. in Focus: Gary Leonard and the Los Angeles Music Scene: Sat. March 14. 2pm. LAPL Central Library, 630 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.