Exene Cervenka
Encyclopedia
Exene Cervenka is an American
writer, musician and artist, most famous as the co-lead vocalist of the Los Angeles
punk rock
band X.
and Florida
, Cervenka moved to Los Angeles
in 1976. In 1977 she met musician John Doe
at a poetry workshop at Beyond Baroque in Venice, California, and founded X. They released their debut album, Los Angeles, in 1980 and, over the next six years, five more critically acclaimed albums. As of 2009 she has continued her career with X as well as in solo performances and participation in bands such as The Knitters
, Auntie Christ
and The Original Sinners.
In 1982 Cervenka published her first in a series of four books, Adulterers Anonymous, in collaboration with artist Lydia Lunch
. She has also performed and recorded solo work doing spoken word
. In 1999, as Exene Cˇervenková, she appeared in the cult video Decoupage 2000: Return of the Goddess, along with guests Karen Black
and the band L7
. She gave a reading of her poem "They Must Be Angels", and appeared in an interview skit with Decoupage 2000 hostess Summer Caprice.
In 2005, her journals and mixed media collage
s were exhibited in a one-person exhibition titled America the Beautiful at the Santa Monica Museum of Art
. The exhibit was curated by Kristine McKenna and Michael Duncan. An expanded version of the exhibition traveled to DCKT Contemporary
in New York
in January 2006. The exhibition featured a selection of journals from the collection of approximately 100 that Cervenka has completed over the past 30+ years, as well as 18 collages. Cervenka's journals combine rough drafts of songs and personal reflections rendered in a baroque
calligraphic script with photographs, drawings and scraps of ephemera found while traveling as a musician. Similarly, the collages are created from found materials to form an interpretative composite portrait of the country she's come to know through her life experiences on the road. DCKT Contemporary
continues to represent her artwork.
Cervenka appeared on the 2000 tribute album Stoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors
with Perry Farrell
on the track "Children Of Night".
and Czech
ancestry. Cervenka married Doe in 1980; they divorced in 1985. According to Henry Rollins
' book Get in the Van
, he and Cervenka are good friends, and did several spoken words shows together in the 1980s.
Cervenka met Viggo Mortensen
in 1986 on the set of the comedy Salvation!
, a parody of televangelism
. Mortensen played her husband, Jerome. They married on July 8, 1987. On January 28, 1988, Cervenka gave birth to her only child, Henry Blake Mortensen. Mortensen and Cervenka separated in 1992, and were divorced in 1997.
is dedicated to her by author Michael Blake.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer, musician and artist, most famous as the co-lead vocalist of the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band X.
Career
Born as Christene Cervenka and raised in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Cervenka moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1976. In 1977 she met musician John Doe
John Doe (musician)
John Doe is an American singer, songwriter, actor, poet and bass player. Doe founded the much-praised L.A. punk band X, of which he is still an active member. His musical performances and compositions span the rock, country and folk music genres...
at a poetry workshop at Beyond Baroque in Venice, California, and founded X. They released their debut album, Los Angeles, in 1980 and, over the next six years, five more critically acclaimed albums. As of 2009 she has continued her career with X as well as in solo performances and participation in bands such as The Knitters
The Knitters
The Knitters are a Los Angeles-based band who play country, rockabilly and folk music. At the time of their formation they were pioneers of country punk, cowpunk or folk punk, the genre which gradually evolved into alternative country...
, Auntie Christ
Auntie Christ
Auntie Christ is a late-1990s punk rock band, containing Exene Cervenka and D.J. Bonebrake of the band X and Matt Freeman of the band Rancid.- Albums :* Life Could Be A Dream...
and The Original Sinners.
In 1982 Cervenka published her first in a series of four books, Adulterers Anonymous, in collaboration with artist Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
. She has also performed and recorded solo work doing spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
. In 1999, as Exene Cˇervenková, she appeared in the cult video Decoupage 2000: Return of the Goddess, along with guests Karen Black
Karen Black
Karen Black is an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Rhinoceros, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot...
and the band L7
L7 (band)
L7 was an American rock band from Los Angeles, that was active from 1985 to 2000. Due to their sound and image, they are often associated with the grunge movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s.-History:...
. She gave a reading of her poem "They Must Be Angels", and appeared in an interview skit with Decoupage 2000 hostess Summer Caprice.
In 2005, her journals and mixed media collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
s were exhibited in a one-person exhibition titled America the Beautiful at the Santa Monica Museum of Art
Santa Monica Museum of Art
The Santa Monica Museum of Art is an independent non-collecting art museum located in Santa Monica, California. It exhibits the work of local, national, and international contemporary artists....
. The exhibit was curated by Kristine McKenna and Michael Duncan. An expanded version of the exhibition traveled to DCKT Contemporary
DCKT Contemporary
Founded in 2002, by Dennis Christie and Ken Tyburski, DCKT Contemporary is a contemporary art gallery based in New York's Lower East Side. The gallery represents emerging and established contemporary artists. Its programming ranges from, but is not limited to, painting and sculpture to video art...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in January 2006. The exhibition featured a selection of journals from the collection of approximately 100 that Cervenka has completed over the past 30+ years, as well as 18 collages. Cervenka's journals combine rough drafts of songs and personal reflections rendered in a baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
calligraphic script with photographs, drawings and scraps of ephemera found while traveling as a musician. Similarly, the collages are created from found materials to form an interpretative composite portrait of the country she's come to know through her life experiences on the road. DCKT Contemporary
DCKT Contemporary
Founded in 2002, by Dennis Christie and Ken Tyburski, DCKT Contemporary is a contemporary art gallery based in New York's Lower East Side. The gallery represents emerging and established contemporary artists. Its programming ranges from, but is not limited to, painting and sculpture to video art...
continues to represent her artwork.
Cervenka appeared on the 2000 tribute album Stoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors
Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors
Stoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors is a tribute album dedicated to The Doors. Producer Ralph Sall gathered an assortment of new, classic and iconic artists for the record. Unusually, the surviving members of The Doors played on this "tribute" record. In addition, recordings of Jim Morrison...
with Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell is the frontman for the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction in 1991; it has since evolved into an annual destination festival. Farrell continues to produce Lollapalooza with partners William...
on the track "Children Of Night".
Personal life
Cervenka is of IrishIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
and Czech
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
ancestry. Cervenka married Doe in 1980; they divorced in 1985. According to Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
' book Get in the Van
Get in the Van
Get in the Van is a memoir by singer, writer, and spoken word artist Henry Rollins first published in 1994 by Rollins' own company, 2.13.61 Publications. The book is composed of journal entries that Rollins kept while he was lead singer of the band Black Flag from 1981 to its breakup in 1986...
, he and Cervenka are good friends, and did several spoken words shows together in the 1980s.
Cervenka met Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. is a Danish-American actor, poet, musician, photographer and painter. He made his film debut in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness, and subsequently appeared in many notable films of the 1990s, including The Indian Runner , Carlito's Way , Crimson Tide , Daylight , The...
in 1986 on the set of the comedy Salvation!
Salvation!
Salvation! is a 1987 film by Beth B., starring Viggo Mortensen, Exene Cervenka and Stephen McHattie. The film is a spoof of televangelism released right after the real-life Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals.-Plot:...
, a parody of televangelism
Televangelism
Televangelism is the use of television to communicate the Christian faith. The word is a portmanteau of television and evangelism and was coined by Time magazine. A “televangelist” is a Christian minister who devotes a large portion of his ministry to television broadcasting...
. Mortensen played her husband, Jerome. They married on July 8, 1987. On January 28, 1988, Cervenka gave birth to her only child, Henry Blake Mortensen. Mortensen and Cervenka separated in 1992, and were divorced in 1997.
Health
On June 2, 2009, Cervenka released the following statement:Discography
- Los Angeles (1980) - X
- Wild GiftWild GiftWild Gift is the second album by the American punk rock band X, released in 1981. It was very well received critically, and was voted #2 for the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics Poll...
(1981) - X - Under the Big Black SunUnder the Big Black SunUnder the Big Black Sun is the third album by the American punk band X, and their major-label debut. It was released on Elektra Records in 1982, and reissued on Rhino Records in 2001 with bonus tracks.-Track listing:...
(1982) - X - More Fun in the New WorldMore Fun in the New WorldMore Fun in the New World is the fourth album by the band X. It was reissued with four bonus tracks by Rhino Records in 2002.Something Wild used "The New World."-Side A:# "The New World" – 3:25# "We're Having Much More Fun" – 3:05...
(1983) - X - Poor Little Critter On The Road (1985) - The Knitters
- Ain't Love Grand!Ain't Love Grand!Ain't Love Grand! is the fifth album by X. This album was their first not produced by Ray Manzarek. It was reissued with four bonus tracks by Rhino Records in 2002.-Track listing:...
(1986) - X - See How We AreSee How We AreSee How We Are is the sixth album by X.It was their first album without founding guitarist Billy Zoom, who was replaced by ex-Blasters guitarist Dave Alvin for the album's recording sessions and some live shows...
(1987) - X - Live at the Whisky a Go-Go (1988) - X
- Old Wives' Tales (1989) - Exene Cervenka
- Running Sacred (1990) - Exene Cervenka
- Hey Zeus!Hey Zeus!hey Zeus! is the seventh studio album by X. Its tracks, Country at War and New Life peaked at numbers 15 and 26 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts, respectively.-Track listing:#"Someone's Watching" – 4:49...
(1993) - X - UncloggedUncloggedRecorded live at the Noe Valley Ministries Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, California over two nights of performances, Unclogged presents acoustic arrangements of past X material, along with two new songs: 'Lying in the Road' and 'The Stage.' The album's title is a play on the title of the...
(1995) - X - Rude Hieroglyphics (1995) - Lydia Lunch & Exene Cervenka
- Surface To Air Serpents (1996) - Exene Cervenka
- Beyond and Back: The X AnthologyBeyond and Back: The X Anthology-Personnel:*John Doe – bass, acoustic guitar, vocals*Exene Cervenka – vocals*Billy Zoom – guitar*D.J. Bonebrake – drums-Additional personnel:*Ray Manzarek – organ*Tony Gilkyson – guitar...
(1997) - X - Life Could Be A Dream (1997) - Auntie ChristAuntie ChristAuntie Christ is a late-1990s punk rock band, containing Exene Cervenka and D.J. Bonebrake of the band X and Matt Freeman of the band Rancid.- Albums :* Life Could Be A Dream...
- Original Sinners (2002) - Original Sinners
- The Best: Make the Music Go Bang!The Best: Make the Music Go Bang!The Best: Make the Music Go Bang! is a compilation American punk rock band X released in 2004. The album includes liner notes by Tony Alva, K. K...
(2004) - X - The Modern Sounds Of The Knitters (2005) - The Knitters
- Live In Los Angeles (2005) - X
- Sev7en (2006) - Exene Cervenka and the Original Sinners
- Somewhere Gone (2009) - Exene Cervenka
- The Excitement of Maybe (2011) - Exene Cervenka
Influence
The Western novel Dances With WolvesDances with Wolves
Dances with Wolves is a 1990 epic western film directed by and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army Lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post, and his dealings with a...
is dedicated to her by author Michael Blake.
External links
- Official website of X
- Biography at VH1VH1VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
- Court document over child support at The Smoking GunThe Smoking GunThe Smoking Gun is a website that posts legal documents, arrest records, and police mugshots on a daily basis. The intent is to bring to the public light information that is damning, shocking, outrageous, or amazing, yet also somewhat obscure or unreported by more mainstream media sources...
- Exene Cervenka at DCKT Contemporary
- Interview with Exene Cervenka at SuicideGirls.com
- SWINDLE Magazine Interview