Opposites do attract, and there may be no better proof than the
performance of The Kjehl Johansen Band at an event for UCLA’s
new legal fraternity Phi Alpha Delta, which is sponsored by the
UCLA Career Center, in Kerckhoff Grand Salon Monday night.
Johansen, a member of UCLA’s class of ’80 and
current Deputy City Attorney for the Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power, brought old-school punk sensibility to an acoustic
setting and showed that you’re never too old ““ or
respectably employed ““ to rock. Appearing in an outfit
straight out of a Gap commercial and singing sweetly while
strumming his acoustic guitar, Johansen somehow effectively
performed songs that sounded more suitable to Velvet
Underground-style distortion.
Following their song “Death of a Riot Grrrl,” he
asked the audience to stay for the question-and-answer period
following the show.
“We’ll fascinate you with stories of the countries
largest municipal utility,” he joked.
Though the music may have stood in stark contrast to the rest of
the events of the evening, nearly everyone present, though
occasionally bemused, was entertained by Johansen’s catchy,
creative songs.
The apparent incongruity of his performance didn’t faze
him, however, as he has been used to uniting seeming incompatible
pursuits. In the mid-80s, while studying at Loyola Law School to
become a lawyer, Johansen was also a significant figure in the
counter-culture L.A. punk scene as a member of Trotsky Icepick.
“At first (this combination) was real jarring, law is so
antithetical to punk. But, eventually, I realized that
there’s a lot you can do with the law that’s really
worthwhile,” Johansen said.
Initially working as a prosecutor, a profession he never
imagined he would have before law school, Johansen tried to use his
position to help those less fortunate.
“I prosecuted a lot of domestic violence cases; I
prosecuted a hate crime in Van Nuys,” he said. “Though
I never imagined that I’d go into prosecution, I realized
that there was a lot of social good I could do.”
Despite Johansen’s increasing responsibilities as a
lawyer, however, the punk rock he grew up with and took part in
remained an important part of his life.
“These days there aren’t a lot of people into the
same bands as us,” he said. “You have to have a special
interest to still be playing this stuff. And we still have a
minimal approach; we’re still true to our roots and our
inspirations.”
Taking advantage of his government position’s flexible
hours, Johansen has found time to record two records and to
continue playing shows locally.
Still, Monday’s performance was his first at UCLA since
’79. It was a true return for a man whose first show was in
Dykstra Hall. Johansen’s college antics were decidedly punk.
He was once kicked out of the on-campus practice space by former
Chancellor Young himself, and was, for a period of time, banned
from performing on campus after accusations of urinating in a
piano. A return under such auspicious circumstances was an
opportunity to relish.
“It’s been a lot of fun to come back and play here
on campus,” he said.
For anyone else, such a situation would seem impossibly
unlikely. For Johansen, it’s just business as usual.