KEITH MORRIS PRESENTS HIS BOOK MY DAMAGE WITH JIM RULAND

My Damage: The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor (Da Capo Press)

Keith Morris is a true punk icon. No one else embodies the sound of Southern Californian hardcore. Short and sporting waist–length dreadlocks, 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, he’s battled diabetes, drug and alcohol addiction, and the record industry.

My Damage is more than a book about the highs and lows of a punk rock legend, however. It’s also a look at rock ’n’ roll through the lens of someone who has shared the stage with just about every major figure in the music industry and appeared in cult films like The Decline of Western Civilization and Repo Man. It’s a Hollywood story from a native’s perspective. My Damage is Morris’s streets, his scene, his music—as only he can tell it.

Keith Morris is an icon of American hardcore music. He is a co-founding member of Black Flag, the most recognizable name in West Coast punk rock, and the Circle Jerks, which cemented his reputation at the forefront of hardcore vocalists. He has recorded over fifteen albums, appeared on countless albums and compilations, and has a half-dozen film credits to his name. The intensity of the music produced by his latest bands OFF! and FLAG are equal to his best work from the 70s, 80s, and 90s and add to a legendary career that is still being carved out one gig at a time. A native of California, he has lived in Los Feliz for over twenty years. 

photo by Geoff Moore

Jim Ruland caught the punk rock virus when his mom took him to see the Ramones when he was 15. He has been writing for punk rock zines like "Flipside" since the early 90s and has written for every issue of "Razorcake," America s only non-profit independent music fanzine. He is the author of the award-winning novel "Forest of Fortune" and the short story collection "Big Lonesome." He is the curator of the Southern California-based irreverent reading series Vermin on the Mount. He lives in San Diego.