My Damage
The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor
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4.4 • 31 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Keith Morris is a true punk icon. No one else embodies the sound of Southern Californian hardcore the way he does. With his waist-length dreadlocks and snarling vocals, Morris is known the world over for his take-no-prisoners approach on the stage and his integrity off of it. Over the course of his forty-year career with Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, and OFF!, he's battled diabetes, drug and alcohol addiction, and the record industry . . . and he's still going strong.
My Damage is more than a book about the highs and lows of a punk rock legend. It's a story from the perspective of someone who has shared the stage with just about every major figure in the music industry and has appeared in cult films like The Decline of Western Civilization and Repo Man. A true Hollywood tale from an L.A. native, My Damage reveals the story of Morris's streets, his scene, and his music-as only he can tell it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As the lead singer and cofounder of the Circle Jerks and Black Flag, Morris was at the epicenter of the west coast punk movement from the beginning. Unfortunately, he was obliterated on booze and drugs for most of that time. Luckily, he's got a great memory, and he shares his recollections in this engaging autobiography. Following in the footsteps of his father ("a hard-living... take-no-shit-off-of-anybody kind of guy"), Morris was drinking and drugging from an early age and getting into mischief. Black Flag played anywhere and everywhere, including oil refineries, keg parties, and a prom, before things took off. Morris puts the reader in the passenger seat as he details the wild and woolly early days of punk rock with plenty of debauchery and hijinks accompanied by police brutality and rampant drug use. Morris takes full responsibility for his bad decisions as well as his eventual commitment to stay clean and live a healthier life following a diagnosis of diabetes. Fans of punk rock will get the most out of the book, and those interested in the music industry in general will also appreciate Morris' candor as he details the machinations and manipulations he's encountered over the years up to the present day, as he's still recording and touring in this roller coaster of a book.
Customer Reviews
Very interesting
I have been a fan of Keith Morris and his music since I was a teenager. It’s interesting to me to hear how things went down from his side of things. To me, he’s always seemed like a very wise man who has learned his lessons from living life. This book proves it.
Essential for 80’s youth!
When I was a kid i met the jerks at a record store in Berkeley. They were in town playing that night. When we got to the hall Keith walked up to us with a piece of paper, sat down, and asked us what songs we wanted included on the set list. He told us stories about Motley Crue and Don Dokken that made us laugh. He was cool, he was funny, he had stories, and he was completely laid back………until he got onstage. This book is totally who that guys is. Its a ripper.