Breaking Out of the Usual Routine: A New Perspective
Ever feel like 🔄 breaking out of your usual routine, veering off your own mental highway, shaking things up, just to see what happens? I know I do. Sometimes I think I know exactly who I am, or at least who I want to become—whether I’m the early bird or the night owl. But how often do I really let myself wander off the beaten path? 🛣️ Sometimes it’s about seeing what happens when I shake the bars of my own rusty cage. 🐦⬛ Breaking out of the usual routine can reveal more than expected. #shitmyrockstarsays #myrockstarsays
How I Find Freedom in Routine Changes
For me, breaking the mold doesn’t always mean a grand leap into the unknown. Sometimes it’s as simple as adjusting one daily habit. I’ve found that it’s these small things that often lead to the biggest breakthroughs. Changing my routine means making space for new experiences, whether it’s switching up my bedroom furniture or rethinking how I approach life. Breaking out of the usual routine keeps me growing and my brain fresh. 🚀✨ #BreakingFree #RoutineChanges
Letting Go of Old Habits: Why It’s Important
I’ve learned that when I cling to routine, I often miss out on opportunities for growth. Letting go of old habits isn’t easy, but it’s necessary for self-discovery. Shaking up my routine opens doors to creativity and fresh perspectives. 🔑 Each change brings me closer to understanding myself and my art. It’s about taking risks and seeing what sticks. Disrupting the cycle has become essential in my life, and I’m not afraid to do it. 🌪️
Stay Updated
As I continue to break out of the usual routine in my creative work, whether it’s music, photography, or writing, I’m all about constant evolution. Follow me on this journey as I explore new ideas and challenge myself to break free from old patterns. 🌍✨ Check out my latest projects here. #CreativeEvolution #JenniferFinch #ExploreTheUnknown
PHOTO B Y JENNIFER FINCH: Dave Grohl on the train (London Tube) 1991
Looking forward and looking back! @jenniferfinch took this photo of good friend Dave Grohl on a train in the London Underground, possibly heading from Shepherd’s Bush to Camden or Central London. Together, Nirvana and L7 shared some incredible stages and antics during that tour, including unforgettable shows at the Astoria Theatre, Leeds Polytechnic, and The Waterfront in Norwich, then many more through the 1990s. In the later 90s, Finch sang for the iconic pop group Other Star People (as a platinum blonde) on toured with Foo Fighters.
As L7 gears up for upcoming shows with Foo Fighters, Finch has been going through the boxes of photos (she is and was a photog). “I love this photo because of the expression on Dave’s face and the complexity of thought and emotions that were happening all at once. There was excitement for Nirvana, the live shows, new songs, and energy, yet sadness for transitioning from Scream, who was also an excellent band and good friends. I have many shots of Dave from back then, and most of them show the kind of levity, energy and humor he brought to the room. However, I choose to release this one now – with only a few Nirvana shows under his belt, it was 1990, a new decade, on the Underground, foreshadowing what was to come, what was left behind, both joy and pain.”
Thank you @grunge_bible for the inspiration. Stay tuned for more details about the Foo Fighters + @L7theband!
Can you Londoners identify the Tube Line in the photos and station name?
L7 Europe 2024 Tour: A Big Thank You to Our Photographers
Hey everyone,
We’ve just wrapped up our whirlwind tour across Europe, and we are beyond grateful for the incredible support and energy from all of you! The memories from this tour are ones we will cherish forever, thanks in large part to the talented photographers who captured these moments so beautifully.
We’ve collected some fantastic live reviews and photo sets from various parts of the internet, and we wanted to take a moment to express our heartfelt thanks to all the photographers who took such great photos of us. You guys rock!
Fans, be sure to click on each link to view the full photo sets and immerse yourself in the incredible moments captured by these talented individuals. Their work not only documents our journey but also brings the essence of our live shows to life.
Once again, thank you to all the photographers and reviewers for sharing your art and helping us connect with our fans in such a meaningful way.
“What a thrill it was to have been at ground zero with John Albert, through the thicks and thins of two teenagers making their way through Los Angeles in the 1980s, partaking in the art and punk scenes, rebel-rousing in Otis art school dorms and riding that first wave of teenage opioid addiction and surviving. John led the way in understanding aesthetics beyond any typical Los Angeles experience. He saw stories everywhere. He was thoughtful and funny. He had a folded-up, worn, and torn paperback of Bukowski in his back pocket and a pen and notebook in the front. We would often get high and make out (although not with each other), and we were only arrested together once.”
– Jennifer Finch
All good stories start with, “We met in art school.”
In 1981, I only wanted to get out of the LA Public school system and get into art school. Otis/Parsons in downtown LA had a summer school program targeted to potential high school-aged initiates and, for whatever reason, made an exception for my age, since I was only 14 and not the required 16. There, I met John Albert; he was in the painting program. Meeting someone (ANYONE) my age with the same taste in books and music was a revelation. John was well-versed in everything from Black Flag to Gil Scott-Heron and from Bukowski to Patti Smith. We quickly became close friends and merged our social circles—his from Pomona and mine from LA.
John introduced me to a world of art and music that deeply influenced me. I took him to see Circle Jerks and Bad Religion, and he introduced me to Christian Death. Through him, I met significant figures like Ron Athey, The Speed Queens, and Eve O and discovered authors like John Fante. These experiences and connections played such a pivotal role in shaping my perspective on life and how to live a good life through art and music.
JUNE 30, 2024 4 – 7 PM SOAP PLANT/WACKO 4633 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027 @soapplantwacko @punk.hostage.press
PRESS RELEASE FROM PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS
Iris Berry @irisberry.official — Punk Hostage Press A. Razor
Punk Hostage Press is honored to announce the release of “Running With The Devil” by John Albert. This release is especially poignant, as John tragically passed away on May 3rd, 2023. This book is a testament to his legacy, a labor of love created through the collective efforts to ensure John’s voice endures in this collection of essays, articles, and remembrances. John Albert, one of Los Angeles’s finest writers, captured the essence of LA in a way only he could. The book was conceptualized and edited by Joe Donnelly, to whom we are incredibly grateful.
A heartfelt thank you to: Ben Harper (@benharper) for his beautiful foreword, Jennifer Finch (@jenniferfinch) for the perfect cover photo Bad Idea Music (@badideamusic) for the stunning cover design.
We also extend our gratitude to Brett Gurewitz (@brettgurewitz), Jerry Stahl (@somejerrystahl), Keith Morris (@doctorkeithmorris), and Laurie Ochoa (@laurie.ochoa) for their powerful blurbs. This project truly brought together a dream team.
And most importantly, thank you to John Albert for his unforgettable words. Read, enjoy, and remember…✨📚✨
John Albert Event ScHedule
4 p.m. Doors 5 p.m. Start SEATING 5:15: Jesse says a few words and reads from Black Flag: Hong Kong Cafe. 5:20: Keith Morris to read from Black Flag: Hong Kong Cafe. 5:25: Jennifer Finch read from The Satori Underground: King Crimson. 5:30 Iris reads from Mickey Avalon. 5:35 Brett reads from Running With the Devil: A Lifetime of Van Halen 5:40: Justin 5:45: Robert Sobul video of John Albert and Wrecking Crew 5:50 Arty reads from Hardball 5:55 Jerry reads from The Hep C Generation 6:00 John Waldman 6:05 Ben Harper
“John Albert was one of the great unsung literary giants of Los Angeles. His LA was the one most people don’t see – the junkies, punks, outcasts, ex-cons, teen-age nihilists and all-around cross-the-street-when-you-see-them-coming skeeks… All of whom he imbued with humanity and heart and a voice that was 100 percent his and his alone. John was one of the funniest humans in the world, but his humor was so insanely dry, and so dark, some people didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or run screaming into the night. John was a one-of-a-kind genius on the page. And a badass mensch of the highest order. Not a day goes by when I don’t miss him.”
–Jerry Stahl, author of Nein, Nein, Nein!: One Man’s Tale of Depression, Psychic Torment, and a Bus Tour of the Holocaust, and I, Fatty
“Let’s get in the Time Machine and go back a few years and put out the call to meet up in the dimly lit parking lot next to the venue. Someone should bring cigarettes, a handful of joints, pills and three or four 6-packs of some cheap chilled adult hangover inducing yellow liquid. We’ll joke and tell stories and start with JOHN ALBERT… “
– Keith Morris, frontman for the Circle Jerks, OFF!, and Flag
“Running with the Devil is a journey through the heart and soul of my beloved friend, John Albert, a man who found beauty in the bleak, humor in the tragic, and depth in the superficial. His pieces are more than reflections; they’re revelations that unpack, with cutting humor and fierce clarity, the essence of an era and the intricacies of human connections. In stories that span the evolution of punk to the depths of personal struggle, his writing reflects the nuanced soul of a city and its people. The collection will resonate with all who have contemplated the absurdity of existence or sought meaning in both the magnificent and the mundane.”
–Brett Gurewitz, co-founder of Bad Religion, founder and CEO of Epitaph Records.
“John Albert is the voice of a Southern California fever dream. Sifting through the absurd to find what is true about this land of misfits and visionaries, his stories speak to us with humor, rage and, ultimately, love.”
