Disco's Out...Murder's In!: The True Story of Frank the Shank and L.A.'s Deadliest Punk Rock Gang - Softcover

Mattioli, Heath; Spacone, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1627310185 ISBN 13: 9781627310185

Publisher: Feral House, 2015

Synopsis

Famous for its revolutionary aspects in musical, political, sexual identity and consumerist ideas, punk rock also has its lesser-known gangster ethos as well, explained here by players in the various punk gangs.

The Los Angeles, Orange County, and South Bay punk scenes, populated by blue collar kids who responded to the violence and aggression of punk songs and shows. A number of them formed punk gangs that got into beatings, drug dealing and murder. Among them, no gang was more notorious than La Mirada Punks, or LMP.

Says LMP chieftain Frank the Shank after getting arrested by police for murder: "After having my hands in so much bloodshed over the years, I most certainly had it coming. I deserved whatever I got."

Unexpectedly Frank was bailed out from prison by his father's friend, a mob gangster.

"Too many people died at the hands of punk rock violence," said Frank. "I got lucky, some didn't. As an ultra-violent punk rock gangster, I admit my part in ruining the scene. L.A. punk was a magical moment of youth expression like no other. And the gangs ruined punk rock. I still have people telling me today that they quit punk because of LMP. I dig graves at a small cemetery just outside Los Angeles. What else would you expect for Frank the Shank?"

Cover illustration by the renowned Raymond Pettibon.

"Disco’s Out … Murder’s In! is one of my favorite books of all time. I devoured it—An absolute page-turner. It’s an exciting and visceral account of the LA suburbs in the 80’s and an anti-coming of age story. It felt like I was right there. This book is so fucking punk – READ IT!" — Terry Richardson Photographer/Director

"If you've never been in the jungle, a story about a tiger is just a story. Yes, you may shiver... but to you, it's still just a story, an exciting escape from your every day life. But not to me, I've been in the Jungle, I've been bitten by tigers, chased by animals, and faced death in the tree line. It's real, it's frightening, and the savagery of that world haunts you forever. I was afraid when I read this book. I caught my fingers tracing over old scars as I turned the pages, and I knew it was real. You can tell yourself that people like this don’t exist, but they do, and they would be pleased to meet you in the dark night of a hardcore boulevard — Disco’s out … Murder’s in!" — Jack Grisham Author/Singer TSOL

About this title

Review

"Disco's Out ... Murder's in! is addictively readable and keeps pace with best records of the genre. I should also mention here that it has a great drawing by Raymond Pettibon on the cover. What we have here is a book that can sit alongside the other volumes on West Coast punk ...  Despite the violent subject matter, a compelling aspect of this book is the cinematic narrative that the authors were able to construct."  --Huffington Post (Nov 29, 2015)

"Once again, Feral House proves it is the agent provocateur of the publishing world. Disco's Out is not only a sensational peek into Los Angeles gang violence, but equally informative about the local punk rock music scene.  [Disco's Out ... Murder's In!] takes us into this heart of darkness with a mix of candor and humor. " -- NY Journal Of Books (November 9, 2015)

"Spanning the years 1979 to 1985 [Disco's Out ... Murder's In!] is an ultraviolent tale of beatdowns, shankings and drive-by shootings fueled by drugs, cheap booze and teenage testosterone ... It's a lost chapter of L.A.'s history and like anything else, you have the good history and the bad history. You can't not include the bad history, even though it's something that everyone would like to forget or write off. It just had to be told." --PLAYBOY (February 29, 2016)

"Slam pit stabbings, bodies found in the street outside concerts, and an exploration of a scene that was once infested with loosely-organized crime: this is a facet of punk history you won't get in the average band biography ... The result is an arresting first-person narrative that begins with Frank's first punk show (X at the Whisky a Go-Go) ... In a way, the book feels like a lost chapter in the already-storied history of LA gangs that have been examined ever since the Prohibition era ... an ugly and largely forgotten stain on LA punk's legacy." -- VICE (January 17, 2016)

"Disco's Out...Murder's In!, has gone a step beyond ... a memoir with an L.A. hardcore scene habitué whose story is uniquely compelling--a chieftain in one of the ultra-violent gangs that turned that city's music scene into a war zone.When the book reaches the point where Frank's career approaches its peak, it regales the reader with unsparing descriptions of utterly mortifying and entirely senseless crimes--This was one of the guys that literally ruined punk, transforming it--in L.A., at least--from a rebel youth culture and musical phenomenon into a serious threat to the lives of its participants. There are passages so viscerally revolting I actually reconsidered my opposition to the death penalty" --DANGEROUS MINDS (December 15, 2015)

Edition details

• Publisher: Feral House
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1627310185
• ISBN 13: 9781627310185
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 230