Kid With A Camera Book + 7" + Trading Cards (Limited Edition) PRE-ORDER

Kid With A Camera documents the experiences of Los Angeles-based author/photographer Jeff DiPerna—a young punk/post-punk fan in the early 1980s—with more than 100 never-before-published photos along with flyers and ephemera from this golden age of underground music. The text brings the music scene alive with the author’s recollections of gigs and fan experiences complemented by contributions from members of bands including the Dream Syndicate, Urinals/100 Flowers, Wall of Voodoo, Middle Class, Medicine, the Crowd and “Associated Skull Bands” Monitor, Bpeople and Human Hands. 

The book also includes a five-track, seven-inch EP with previously unreleased demos, rehearsal tapes and live recordings by Monitor, Bpeople and Human Hands.

The photos—taken at clubs in Los Angeles and New York—depict a diverse array of musicians that reflect the wealth of genres and subgenres that proliferated during this period—the still-local, unsigned Go-Go’s; the wild antics of the Dickies; the industrial intensity of Einstürzende Neubauten; the just-emerging X; the Slits on their final tour before disbanding; enigmatic Pylon; post-punk icons Gang of Four; goth/death-rock pioneers Siouxsie and the Banshees, 45 Grave, Castration Squad, Kommunity FK, Christian Death; and many more. 

DiPerna always arrived early and staked out a spot in front of the stage in order to capture the intensity of the performers in intimate, close-up photos. In his foreword, Don Bolles (Germs/45 Grave) states, “[I’m] struck by the vitality and raw humanness of his images, the performers animated as in three dimensions.”

To complete this thorough documentation, the book also reproduces the handwritten list of every band DiPerna saw from 1977 to 1985. A unique, compelling document from the perspective of a dedicated fan, Kid With A Camera places the reader front and center in the often-neglected scene that existed between the first and second punk generations.

Foreword by Don Bolles (Germs, 45 Grave, Vox Pop)

• 188 pages
• Softcover, fully illustrated
• 7.75 x 9.75 inches
• Available November 2026
• ISBN: 979-8-9984255-0-9

LIMITED EDITION DELUXE VERSION

Kid With A Camera author Jeff DiPerna has created an exclusive set of trading cards featuring 20 of his photographic subjects, complete with an up-to-date biography on the reverse. Limited to only 50 sets!