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I was very excited to meet and collaborate with Melanie Nissen because, as co-founder of Slash magazine, she photographed some of the most important figures and moments in the early LA punk scene—a scene that dramatically impacted me as a creative person. Nissen’s new book of her punk photos from 1977-1980, Hard+Fast, is beautifully designed and full of amazing images. After some serious deliberation, I decided I’d like to make an illustration of Alice Bag. I first encountered Alice Bag as a teen in Penelope Spheeris’ documentary “The Decline of Western Civilization,” but The Bags did not put out a lot of music, and it was hard to find. However, in reading books about the LA punk scene like “We Got The Neutron Bomb” and “Lexicon Devil,” as well as the Slash magazine book, I realized that Alice was a very important figure in the LA scene who has continued to make great music and is an outspoken champion of LatinX and feminist causes. She’s also a very nice person. I’m glad to celebrate Alice for her contributions to culture then and now. If you are unfamiliar with The Bags, I’d recommend picking up “All Bagged Up… The Collected Works 1977-1980.”
– Shepard