X: On the Road & At the Crossroads

” …beyond the first ink, beyond the aperture’s first opening, beyond the first note rebounding off the walls of the Masque into history, before the first blue spark was struck on the flint of poetry in Venice, beyond beyond and back, beyond you, beyond me, digging the dug-up mastodons mired in time as I am, digging causes and effects, antecedents and ancestors, history and mystery, a continuum that takes us to the now…”
-from Chris Morris’ foreword

In over 70 photographs, Michael Hyatt explores his decades-long relationship with one of his favorite subjects, the Los Angeles punk band X. The book contains new prints of his iconic black and white images from the 1980s, as well as a selection of more recent color photographs of the band, including some from their 2024 “The End Is Near” tour. We see X as it was first developing and venturing out on the road, and as they are now, in the final stages of their long and storied touring career.

Hyatt captures the original and eclectic style of the band in candid moments on- and off-stage. Long-time fans will find images they may not have seen before, and new details in those they are familiar with. For those new to X and their ground-breaking legacy, Hyatt’s verité style photography and Chris Morris’ sage words of introduction provide us with a valuable historical document.