Ever since their debut album Los Angeles birthed punk-rock anthems in “Nausea” and “Johny Hit and Run Paulene” in 1980, X has been a huge presence in the punk-rock world.
Impressively, the band’s “core four” members remain in the lineup, and after releasing what is said to be their final studio album in 2024, the band embarked on “The End Is Near,” a “farewell” tour. Vocalist/bassist John Doe told The Guardian, “As for touring, I never want us to be a shadow of what we were. I want us to go out on top.”
X, alongside co-headliner Los Lobos, will perform on Friday, Nov. 7, at the Silver Legacy.
“I look forward to seeing what the gentrification of Reno holds,” John Doe said during a recent phone interview. “I went to Reno several years ago, and it was kind of what you’d expect, and I thought that was very literary. You could get holed up in Reno and write a hard-hitting novel or some short stories.”
X and Los Lobos were set to embark on a two-month tour throughout the U.S. and Canada, but shortly before the first date, the vast majority of the tour was cancelled. A statement on both bands’ socials read: “Due to circumstances beyond our control, X and Los Lobos will be unable to embark on the 99 Years of Rock ’N’ Roll Tour. Both bands and our crews worked hard and were looking forward to this tour. We love and value our fans and are extremely disappointed at this turn of events. … We hope to see you in the near future.”
Doe explained: “Reno and Riverside are the two shows that got saved from this entire tour that got canceled, because the evil corporation that came in as a third-party promoter blew it and canceled the entire tour. But it’s no big surprise that corporations don’t care about people’s livelihoods or people’s plans, so that’s what they do. I’m glad to be playing Reno and Riverside, two places that are off the beaten track, and people will be all the happier, because everybody doesn’t stop in Reno, and everybody doesn’t stop in Riverside, California, so I will be excited.”
Many fans were surprised to see the announcement of another X tour after “The End Is Near” was billed as the band’s farewell.
“X never said we were hanging it up,” Doe said. “We just said that 2024 was the last time we’re going to tour in just clubs—but we may have to eat our words on that.”
Doe explained why many bands are unable to stick to the promise of a farewell tour.
“Because you never made enough money to quit,” he said. “Have you ever been on tour? It’s grueling. … Our job is to bring joy to people and to get them together and create a community for one night or two, if you’re lucky. I’m still friends with Shirley Manson from Garbage, and she’s making a very public announcement during their shows on their most recent tour that they probably won’t do full United States headlining tours anymore, because they don’t end up making any money.”
A love for performing also makes it hard to say goodbye.
“We are good when we play, and that’s what we’re good at, so doing that is still joyful, and we still like each other,” Doe said. “That’s why we continue to do it. Proof positive is putting out that record in 2024: We still have the creative juice to be able to do that, and not just to play songs that are 40 years old.”
The now two-date X and Los Lobos tour was being billed as the “99 Years of Rock ’N’ Roll” tour.
“We’re celebrating the 48th year of X, and they’re celebrating the 51st year of Los Lobos,” Doe said. “They’re one of the greatest bands ever. Because we always play second, we have to get out there and show we’ve got it, because they’ve got it. They’ve got the songs; they’ve got the musicianship and energy and singing and all that stuff. They’ve got everything, plus they have a community like we do—a different community, but similar, who’s followed them for many years, and it’s multi-generational. That’s a real testament. That means something.”
After he mentioned Los Lobos’ legacy, I asked Doe if he had put any thought into the legacy of X.
“I don’t care,” he said. “I know what we’ve done, and what everyone else might think; that’s their choice. I’m not going to get into hoping and wishing that they do this or do that. I know that, just like Los Lobos, we have a place in history and musical history. Journalists can argue about that, but I know that our songwriting is good, and our sound is unique. We have an original sound and poetry and tell good stories.
“There are some younger bands who say that we’ve inspired them, but it’s just freedom. People say, ‘What is punk rock all about?’ It’s about freedom. It’s about doing what the hell you want, not worrying about your virtuosic musicianship and a bunch of pretense. It’s just playing from your heart, like good country music. That’s where outlaw country and X overlap, and a lot of punk rock bands. … We wanted to do what we felt in our heart, rather than trying to chase some money, and that’s why we’re still not ready for prime time for some people, but for other people, we’ve saved their life or changed their life. That’s very rewarding.”
Part of what makes X so unique is their vocal capabilities. Through bits of punk-rock mayhem and crunch-guitar riffs, Doe and Exene Cervenka trade off vocal duties. Layered and different vocal tones add an element of pop, blues and call-and-response energy to X’s discography.
During a recent phone interview, Cervenka said that 2024’s “The End is Near” tour was a warning—and that instead of saying goodbye, X is scaling back.
“I tell people, ‘You’d better come see us; we’re not going to play anymore after this,’ and people are like, ‘Wasn’t last year your last tour?’ and I said, ‘No; we said the end is near,’” she said. “We were trying to give you some warning, and now we’re telling you, ‘You’ve got to go.’ I think people are just so used to seeing us, they don’t think we’re ever going to stop. We may play a show next year or something. We’re always looking like, ‘Hey, if there’s a festival,’ or we’ll play the Orange County Fair almost every year, something fun like that. We’re not getting in and out of the vans every day to go play and stay in hotels and all that.”
Cervenka reflected on being in a band with the same people for nearly 50 years.
“If you’ve ever had a relationship with another human being, you know how hard it is,” she said. “For me, it’s really hard, because I love being onstage. I love playing shows. I love the fans, and I’ve always felt that way. …I just would like to keep playing, because I love doing it, but it’s physically really challenging. What’s really hard about it, honestly, is the traveling and the physical stuff people don’t understand. … It does take a toll on you if you’re going for four weeks, and you’re doing every day, driving to a different city. You get older; things get harder, but I still love it, and I love being onstage. That part never gets old.”
Cervenka said she first visited Reno in 1976.
“I was stopping on the way to California, when I was moving out here, and I put in a quarter in the slot machine, and I won $5 and then I went, ‘Wow, this is great,’” she said. “I got back in the car, and I had five more dollars when I got to California, which was a big difference then. It was the cutest little town, the Biggest Little City in the World.”
Cervenka said she was happy the Reno performance was one of the two shows salvaged from the cancelled tour.
“We hardly get to play there,” Cervenka said. “Because of Burning Man, a lot of people have resettled in Reno, and as they’ve traveled through, they’ve fallen in love with it, and it’s grown quite a bit. I’m excited to spend a minute there so I can look around at all the galleries and restaurants and the way it’s changed. It just seems like such a beautiful town now, so I want to go explore it a little bit.”
Cervenka noted the irony of a punk-rock band performing at a casino.
“In the early days of punk, we would have hated that,” she said. “But here’s the thing: If a band could play anywhere, they should. A backyard party, we’ll play that; this benefit, ‘Sure, why not?’ … You can’t be fussy about that stuff, and you can’t be judgmental about that stuff. You’re just going to play wherever you can play.”
X and Los Lobos will perform at 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7, at the Silver Legacy, at 407 N. Virginia St., in Reno. Tickets start at $50.72. For tickets and more information, visit www.caesars.com/silver-legacy-reno.