In Conversation: Civ of Gorilla Biscuits

After 38 years of wielding a microphone for one of hardcore's most legendary bands, and thanks to a new memoir, Civ is sharing his voice in a new way—as a witness and a storyteller.

Civ with Gorilla Biscuits. Live at the El Rey Theatre. Los Angeles, CA. July 21, 2023. Photo by Evan Moses.

It feels like you could use Gorilla Biscuits as a punk-rock rule of thumb: You’re not actually “first wave” unless you remember a hardcore scene before them. At this stage of the culture, GB have seen almost four decades worth of global scenes and audiences and stages. And somehow, as someone who has seen them play in both 1988 and 2023, I can attest: They’re as great as they’ve ever been. That is no small feat.

Civ’s most recent endeavor, however, came unexpected. Back in September, he published his first book, A Roadie’s Tale, which uses original journals and other primary documents to piece together the story of Youth of Today’s summer tour in 1987. Having read it, I realized that this was the springboard I needed to finally sit down with Civ for …