New Los Angeles Mural: Darby Crash X Gary Leonard

May 03, 2016

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New Los Angeles Mural: Darby Crash X Gary Leonard

Last Friday, my crew and I painted a mural of Darby Crash, the singer of LA punk band The Germs, on Echo Park Blvd. The location is owned by Gary Leonard, the photographer who shot the photo the mural was based on in 1980. Gary has been documenting LA culture for a long time, and has many amazing photos in his portfolio, but this Darby shot may be my favorite. Why? Well, I love the Germs, who were a seminal influence in the early LA punk scene, but also because Darby is holding a skateboard, and in the photo, you can see that he is about to go out to wheat-paste P.I.L. posters with his brush in hand. Punk, skateboarding, and street art are the trifecta that shaped my evolution, so the image has a symbolic weight for me! I threw nods to some other important LA punk contributors, like the Screamers, X, Black Flag, and Slash magazine/records into the image.

An amazing thing happened while we were painting the mural… a guy named James I believe, was walking past and said, “Oh, Darby Crash, the skateboard he is holding in the pic was borrowed from my friend, who still had it for many years after.” James and Gary then began a deep conversation about various people from the early LA punk scene! I felt privileged to eavesdrop on a bit of history. At that moment I was reminded why I love street art so much: it sparks conversations that might not happen otherwise. Thanks for the wall space Gary!

-Shepard

Darby Crash, a young man with spiky hair, holds a skateboard with "GERMS" written on it, in 1980 Hollywood.

A poster for "Slash" magazine featuring a shirtless Darby Crash singing into a microphone, with "GERMS (MIA)" at the bottom.

All photos by Jonathan Furlong:

A street scene with a white building, a yellow building, and people setting up equipment for a mural.

A stack of prints featuring a punk rock figure with spiky hair, leopard print, and the word "GERMS".

A man in a black t-shirt talks to an older man and a woman on a street in black and white.

A man in a black t-shirt applies a large paper stencil to a wall, part of a mural.

A man in a black t-shirt carefully peels back a stencil revealing a black and white star design on a wall.

Three men work on a large mural of a punk rock figure with spiky hair, using stencils and paint.

A stencil with the words "WHAT WE DO IS SECRET" and a paper with "DARBY CRASH MURAL" written on it.

A man in a black t-shirt spray paints a black and white star design on a wall.

A man in a black t-shirt works on a large mural of a punk rock figure with spiky hair, using stencils and paint.

Close-up of a man in a black t-shirt carefully working on a mural with a small tool.

Three men work on a large, colorful mural of a punk rock figure with spiky hair on the side of a building.

A man in a black t-shirt works on a large mural of a punk rock figure with spiky hair, painting a black section.

A man holds up a print of a punk rock figure with spiky hair and leopard print, looking at the mural.

A man in a black t-shirt works on a mural, looking at his reflection in a window.

Two men stand proudly in front of a large, colorful mural of a punk rock figure with spiky hair.