Raised in the spirit of punk rock

Photographer Maggie St. Thomas chronicles decades of the SoCal scene in latest book.

- BY STEPHANIE MENDEZ

THIS PHOTO of a crowd surfer at the Showcase Theater in Corona in 1996 is one of many in "Subject: Punk."

Maggie St. Thomas had an unusual childhood that led to a lifetime of documenting rare moments in punk rock history.

As a 6-year-old, St. Thomas used to go out on school nights and hang out at seedy music venues with her dad to watch bands like Motörhead and TSOL. In 1991, when she was in the sixth grade, she casually picked up a camera to shoot a political rally at Los Angeles City Hall, where L7 and Red Hot Chili Peppers were performing. She says this is the moment she discovered her passion for photography. Over the next few decades, her life became consumed by punk rock shows and film rolls.

The SoCal native went onto shoot revered acts like the Ramones, Johnny Thunders, and Lemmy Kilmister of Motérhead, capturing many private moments with musicians offstage too. St. Thomas has compiled these and countless more images in her latest book, “Subject: Punk,” a collection and chronicle of her punk rock photography from the’90s to present.

The book, which published its second edition in October, also includes music journalism narratives and interviews that the punk rock photographer conducted with musicians like Wayne Kramer of MCS, Markie and Johnny Ramone ofthe Ramones, and many others.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Your latest book, “Subject: Punk,” captures your photography in the SoCal punk scene from the ’90s to present day. Despite all the great bands you were capturing in the early ’90s, your dream was to ultimately shoot the Ramones. What did that moment mean to you when it finally happened?